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YOUR RIGHT 
TO BE HAPPY 

REJOICE ALWAYS; OR, 
HAPPINESS IS FOR YOU 



f/^'' van EPS 



NEW YORK 

ROBERT M. McBRIDE & CO. 

1916 






Copyright, 1916, by 
Robert M. McBride & Co. 

Copyright, 1906, by 
Frank S. Van Eps 




MAY 25 1917 



C!.A462641 



PREFACE, 

A series of addresses that proved help- 
ful to many who heard them were so com- 
mended that the author yielded to the many 
requests to have them printed, that a larger 
audience might profit by them. This book 
is an outcome of many years of experience, 
practice, and study, especially study of the 
Greek New Testament in connection with 
that of such remarkable persons as George 
Mtiller, Dr. Cullis, Dorothea Triidel, and 
many others whose lives of prayer have 
shown wonderful works, or demonstrations, 
if that word be preferred. 

The reality of the spiritual world and its 
essential relation to what is called the ma- 
terial world must, in the progressive un- 
f oldment . of human life and possibility, 
become increasingly the reliance of all man- 
kind in meeting the issues of daily life, 
experience, and service. Man in his ages 



PREFACE. 

of progress has grown, and in growing has 
outgrown many things and grown into 
many other things. The vision of what 
ought to be lures us to use all right means 
to make what ought to be to become mani- 
fest as we work together with God as His 
children. Science, so marvelous in its 
achievements in many other lines, must do 
its proper work in spiritual lines, to the 
inestimable good of mankind, and to the 
establishing of that order of things called 
the Kingdom of God on the earth. Once 
let mankind turn to spiritual things and 
their practical use, as already to material, 
and a progress will result surpassing all 
our present conception. The universe is a 
unity throughout. 

To help in some small measure such a 
development of the unknown but spiritually 
conceived results, this book is brought to 
the hands and the use of those who wish 
to take part in the great development, be- 
ginning in their own selves the spiritual 
work. 

F. S. Van Eps. 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

I Eejoice 1 

II The Consciousness of God . . .34 

III No Anxiety 70 

IV Peayer and Supplication . . . 103 
V Thanksgiving 131 

VI The Peace of God 160 



IRejoice Hlwai^s; or, Ibappinese Us 
fov l^ou^ 

I. 

Eejoice. 

'^Rejoice in the Lord all the time/' 
JOY, happiness, or satisfaction is the 
birthright of every human being; and there 
is a sure way to realize it. Our capacity for 
happiness and our eagerness for it are evi- 
dences of this fact. As the ear is the organ 
for hearing and the eye for seeing, and their 
very existence points to hearing and to see- 
ing; so, the capacity for anything, such as 
happiness, points to its satisfaction. A fac- 
ulty points to its own action and effective- 
ness. Man's capacity for joy proves that his 
destiny is joy and happiness. If he is not 
having an experience which accords with the 
things to which his very nature and consti- 



REJOICE ALWAYS; 0% 

tution point and whicli according to reason 
they require, it is evident that something 
unnatural must be interfering with him. 
The promise of his nature must be fulfilled. 

More people are to-day on the way to hap- 
piness than ever before, in history. This is 
because the secret of happiness is being more 
widely understood and acted upon. We are, 
as a race, nearer universal happiness and 
satisfaction than ever, even though many say 
that man's lot is sorrow. 

Looking over humanity, we see the major- 
ity apparently unhappy, dissatisfied, and 
complaining. These questions arise : "Is all 
this necessary? Is this a part of the plan of 
God? Is there no balm in Gilead?" Rea- 
son shows that the evident purpose of the 
Creator is that all shall be happy and satis- 
fied. 

But how? Where do people miss their 
way? Why do they not find it? If there is 
any way of peace and happiness, why has it 
not been found and followed all these ages? 



fiAPPlNESS IS E^Ok YOtJ. 

Surely it would seem that all people would 
rush for the way of release from burdens, if 
the way were pointed out. But, is it so? 
Point out to some one what you have found 
to help or satisfy you, and you will not al- 
ways find that there will be a rush to try the 
same. People have been in the habit of ob- 
jecting, arguing, or hesitating, rather than 
accepting with eagerness the way of deliver- 
ance. Too often they ask that foolish ques- 
tion, "Why is the way so, and not other- 
wise?'' It is not so much asking questions 
that leads to freedom, as obeying divine di- 
rections, believing the truth when it is point- 
ed out. The truth does no one good, unless 
he accepts it and acts upon it. 

There is such a thing as joy on a scientific 
basis, joy based on known principles and 
laws ; happiness that endures and can not be 
destroyed or taken away, but can be depend- 
ed upon as permanent. It is above and be- 
yond the affairs and circumstances of the 



bEJOICE ALWAYS; OR^ 

world, and not dependent or consequent up- 
on them. 

We are now to investigate as a scientific 
matter the secret of this happiness, to pro- 
ceed step by step and ascertain its principles 
and laws, and then to apply them so as to 
have the science and the art of being joyous, 
happy, and satisfied. 

Happiness is commonly considered to be 
that state in which all is going well with one, 
and he enjoys life; enjoyment of good for- 
tune; realization of good. One looks upon 
his experience as a whole and sees that the 
general trend or course of his affairs is good, 
and he is thus in that state in which he has 
a sense of suflflciency, and so he is satisfied, 
has enough. This is really a state of the in- 
ner and Essential man, and therefore is a 
state of mind or spirit. 

From the philosophical standpoint, it 
must have its origin not in things or in cir- 
cumstances, or even in people. Whatever 
things, circumstances, or people may be, one 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOU. 

may not be happy or satisfied because of 
them or in connection with them. Again, 
whatever they may be, one can be happy in 
spite of them. The person is supreme. From 
the standpoint of human experience, we may 
say the same; for experience corroborates 
the conclusion reached by means of our rea- 
soning from the nature of things. Watch 
those whose position in the world, whose 
possession of things, whose circumstances, 
and whose relations with others would seem 
sufficient ground for happiness and content- 
ment, and you find that they are not always 
happy. Often they seem the farthest from 
such a state. On the other hand, we find 
many happy, though they are without the 
things, circumstances, or people that have 
been considered by many as necessary to 
this condition. It requires no very deep 
penetration to perceive that man is supreme 
above things, above circumstances, and 
above relations to others; master, and not 
slave; and contains within himself the essen- 



REJOICE always; or, 

tials of happiness and satisfaction. On him- 
self, therefore, rests the responsibility for 
his condition. 

It must be in the person himself that good 
is realized and satisfaction found, and the 
source can be nothing else than the infinite 
Spirit. If joy, happiness, satisfaction, is a 
state of the essential man, and he is a ration- 
al spirit; then this state must come about 
according to the laws, or the methods of ac- 
tion, of the rational spirit. Then, as the 
source of all good is the infinite Spirit, man 
must realize good through the observance 
of the laws of spiritual action. 

A great mistake made by people has been 
that they have sought satisfaction in things 
lower in the scale of being than themselves, 
and they have necessarily been disappointed. 
^^Seek, and you shall find'' does not mean 
seek beneath you, but above you. ^^Ask, and 
it shall be given you," means ask of God. 
Shall we seek satisfaction elsewhere? When 
we look above things, above even ourselves. 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOU. 

and seek from a higher source, all satisfac- 
tion must be found with definiteness and 
certainty, and our birthright must be real- 
ized. 

There is a region of our being, call it deep 
or call it high, that is beyond the fluctua- 
tions of affairs, beyond the changes of rela- 
tions with others, beyond the shifting of all 
external things. It is the region of cause; 
and so, above effects. From this region one 
can look down upon all things with the air 
of master. Many have testified to this, and 
their experience is the actual demonstration 
of the existence of the region mentioned and 
of the practical value to one of retiring to it. 
"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose 
mind is stayed on thee'' is the prophet's dec- 
laration. The great Master said : "Peace I 
leave with you ; my peace I give unto you : 
not as the world gives do I give unto you. 
Let not your heart be troubled, neither let 
it be fearful.'' 

Again, note these words: "These things 



REJOICE always; or, 

have I spoken to you, that my joy may be in 
you, and that your joy may be filled full.'' 
Fulness of joy, of gladness, of satisfaction, 
is what it was the evident intention of the 
Christ to bring into human experience, not 
as a mere pious emotion, not as a flitting 
and transitory thing, but as a practical, 
every-day experience, enduring and con- 
stant. Whatever man has experienced, what- 
ever his life has seemed, the Christ has 
shown the way to that which is truly divine 
and is man's true condition, that which God 
originally intended. 

How shall this be experienced? How can 
Ave get into that state which makes trouble, 
anxiety, and all the rest of such things not 
even memories any more? This is a scien- 
tific and a practical question. 

Paul points out the way to this desired 
state, and it is not sanctimonious piety, but 
what science, philosophy, and experience 
confirm. 

We will note this way step by step, so that 



8 



HAPPINESS IS FOB YOU. 

it may be very plain to every one. The first 
step is this: "Rejoice in the Lord at all 
times ; and again I will say, Eejoice." Those 
who have been in the habit of complaining, 
of grumbling at nearly everything, will find 
this apparently a hard thing to do, and may 
ask, "How can one rejoice at all times? How 
can one rejoice when things seem adverse, 
and people seem hostile or treacherous?" 
Let them lay aside everything preconceived, 
all their past, and think. Let them not meet 
the suggestion of the way of help with an 
objection. 

Is it possible to rejoice or be glad all the 
time? to be free from the fluctuations of joy 
and depression? Is it a matter of one's own 
choice? Can happiness be brought into the 
human heart that is weighed down? Can 
the shadows and the darkness be dispelled? 
To all these questions there is one answer — 
Yes. It may further be said that, when the 
way is made clear to a person, he has no ex- 
cuse for not being happy. Many things once 



9 



REJOICE always; or^ 

x^garded as inevitable, as beyond man's pow- 
er, are now proved to be within the power of 
every one. How much of human experience 
is directly the result of using or of not using 
the will intelligently no one can tell. It of- 
ten looks as if the whole responsibility for 
conditions rested upon people themselves. If 
this is so, it is most important that every one 
investigate, and then earnestly apply what 
he learns. 

The statement is, "Rejoice in the Lord at 
all times,'' or "all the time." This is not 
sanctimony, but sound reason. One is not 
to rejoice in himself, in others, or in things; 
but in the Infinite. This is a profound idea. 
John and Paul especially use the phrases, 
"in Christ," "in the Lord," "in the Christ," 
and others similar. The idea is that of be- 
ing in the Christ, in fellowship, communion, 
living contact, real oneness, with him. It 
is being in the same state, the same thought 
and life, as that in which he is. To rejoice 
and be glad in this relation with the Christ 



10 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOU. 

is to realize one's oneness with the Creator, 
and so to withdraw from the outward thing 
or situation which may seem unpleasant and 
unbearable. Thus God is a practical refuge. 
One flees to the secret place, and in the si- 
lence alone with God, prays to the Father 
in secret. This is one's sure sanctuary and 
citadel. One understands, because he dem- 
onstrates, that this action does bring him to 
a state of mind which enables him to en- 
counter anything and not be moved. 

Eejoicing in the Lord is knowing that one 
is in vital union with God and that nothing 
in the world can overcome or disturb him. A 
man had an object which he wished to ac- 
complish. He said : "With God helping me, 
no power on earth but God can defeat me, 
and he will not, because he does not want 
to." With this confidence, he went forward 
and succeeded. This was practical rejoicing 
in the Lord. One has all the ability and 
power, because he has all the resources, of 
the Infinite at his disposal. This is not a 



11 



REJOICE always; or^ 

belief and hope simply, but a practical and 
tangible thing. It is, in fact, not a theory or 
dogma, but it is a life. 

The repetition is significant : "Again I will 
say, Rejoice.'' It is as if Paul had, as he was 
writing, swept through a consideration of 
all the objections that might be brought up, 
reviewed experience, giving all due consider- 
ation, and then, as a deliberate and fully 
warranted statement, repeated "Rejoice." It 
is not modification, but intensification ; it is 
not retraction, but emphatic reiteration. It 
is not theory, but scientific and demonstra- 
ble knowledge. 

The secret is to live constantly in con- 
scious oneness with God, in the relation of 
the child to the Father, and so rejoicing in 
and because of this relation. People have 
too much lived in things, putting thought 
and effort upon them, seeking happiness in 
them, and acting as if all depended on them. 
All this is a great mistake. Every one must, 
like the prodigal son, come to himself and 



12 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOU. 

say, ^^I will arise and go to my father.'' That 
wonderful parable illustrates human expe- 
rience and how satisfaction is finally to be 
obtained after trying all kinds of mistaken 
ways and finding them disappointing. There 
is the proper place and the proper use of 
things ; but they should never be allowed to 
be placed in one's consideration above him- 
self, but subject to himself. He should rule 
them, and never allow himself to be ruled by 
them. 

Many people, partially seeing this point, 
and endeavoring to free themselves from the 
bondage to surroundings, have grown care- 
less of the real nature and worth of things. 
From the extreme of living solely for houses, 
lands, and clothes, they now go about care- 
lessly dressed, their homes are poorly kept, 
and their obligations are never met. This is 
all wrong. Whatever tends to beautify the 
person or his surroundings, and all that is 
beautiful in this world about us that we call 
nature, have their part and place in the ele- 



13 



REJOICE ALWAYS; OR^ 

yating of an individual, and so they make 
him more susceptible to those higher things 
which he is seeking. The poorly dressed 
man, living in a slovenly home, does not and 
can not develop as he would in artistic sur- 
roundings. But he does not need to be de- 
spondent because he has not these things, 
as this will only tend to drive him farther 
down the scale. The first step in getting up 
is to lift himself up out of his surroundings 
by rejoicing. "Seek first his kingdom and 
his rightness, and all these things shall 
be added to you." We should form the habit 
of rejoicing all the time, should cultivate the 
attitude of joy and gladness. This very 
state of mind is power, and it leads to effec- 
tive operation and desired results. Nothing 
else can so conduce to cheerfulness, and 
every one knows what a tonic is good cheer. 
How often the Great Teacher used to say, 
"Be of good cheer." Nothing else will bring 
one to enjoy life and everything in life more 
than rejoicing as a persistent and cultivated 



14 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOU. 

attitude. It is the first step in mastering a 
situation. It is culture of the best kind. 

How to do this is simple. It requires a 
decided use of the will, intelligently direct- 
ed. We should look our situation over, and 
see that we are ourselves of more importance 
than any situation in which we may be. The 
diamond is more than its setting. Things 
are not so bad as they seem. Let us deter- 
mine that, however things may seem, what- 
ever may come up, however serious or com- 
plicated all may appear, before we do any- 
thing else, we will rejoice in our relation to 
the Infinite, rejoice in the fact that we are 
in vital touch and communion with the Pow- 
er that rules all things and works all things 
together with us for good. Let us get good 
out of the situation. A cat, trying to eat, 
found the food hot on the side first ap- 
proached, and walked around to the other 
side, because that might be cooler. That was 
good sense. Let us approach things from 
the other side, if they seem unpleasant from 



i: 



K 



REJOICE ALWAYS; OR^ 

this side. We will turn everything around, 
if necessary; and in the divine power put 
forth in rejoicing in the Lord, bring forth 
good. We must rejoice in the Lord until we 
find something in the situation that is good, 
and make that our starting-pointi. It is 
there, whether we see it or not. We must 
look until we do see it. ^^Seek, and you 
shall find.'' One finds what he looks for. 

We must be careful that in our anxiety 
we do not trust in things and appearances 
more than in God. In the pressure of things, 
though one may say that he is trusting in 
God, yet he is heavy at heart and bowed 
down; but, when things look brighter, his 
heaviness is gone. Is he not, then, trust- 
ing and rejoicing in things rather than in 
God? The very fact of one's despair shows 
that he is trusting in things rather than in 
the Infinite. We must compel ourselves to 
trust and to rejoice in the Lord and in 
nothing else. Then our joy no one can take 
from us, and it will be full. What was that 



16 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOU. 

joy which Christ spoke of as "my joy''? It 
must have been something above that which 
is in things ; it must have been in the Father 
and in his work. "I have food to eat which 
you do not know/' he said; "my food is to 
do the will of him that sent me." Here was 
his food, his life, his enjoyment. 

With this deeply impressed on ourselves, 
we are ready. We begin the day by saying, 
"Rejoice, rejoice! Lift up! Good cheer! 
Courage!" This is drill and practice in 
setting the current of experience going as we 
wish it. If one is to be a good soldier on 
the field and in action, he must be a good 
soldier in his drill. Victory on the field de- 
pends much on one's drill when not there. 
One must not wait until a battle is on before 
he does his drilling. 

Every one knows that there is a great 
power in a watchword. It is a method and 
a means of concentrating power. A proverb 
often comes to mind and has a decided effect. 
"Never buy what you do not want, just be- 



17 



REJOICE always; or^ 

cause it is cheap/' came to mind at a certain 
moment, and if the man had heeded the sug- 
gestion, an unnecessary purchase would 
have been avoided, and consequent financial 
embarrassment averted. Some word or quo- 
tation comes to mind at a moment of su- 
preme importance and sets one on the way 
to victory. It is a scientific matter, that the 
words which one keeps in mind have a great 
power in shaping conditions and experi- 
ences. Words so held in mind exert a deter- 
mining infiuence upon one's career. Multi- 
tudes of examples might be cited. A young 
man, peddling, saw a beautiful spot for a 
house and declared that he was going to own 
that place and w^ould have it laid out as he 
described. For many years he has had that 
place as he determined and declared. We 
have all said what we were going to do and 
have found things so shaping without our 
effort that our word has come true. Our 
speaking the word was the effort put forth. 
To say to one's self "Kejoice" is to set the 



18 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOU. 

whole action of the spirit in that line; and 
this sets the machinery of events going in 
that way. To keep repeating this word is to 
keep that action continuously in that line 
and thus it is a permanent state. Every rep- 
etition adds an increment of force to it and 
makes it more powerful. Soon one is joy- 
ous without effort, because he has struck a 
rhythm or flow that carries him as momen- 
tum. 

A thing may come up unexpectedly, 
springing suddenly upon us. At the first 
suggestion of difficulty, we must take our 
word. Before fear can get hold of us, we 
must say "Eejoice" to ourselves in our se- 
cret heart, being glad that we have all the 
resources of God at our command, that we 
have the ability to deal with the situation 
and to master it, and that we can prove this 
ability. "I can do all things in the One who 
empowers me." If doubts arise, we must 
kill them out by saying, ^^Rejoice" faster 
than the doubts come up. 



19 



REJOICE always; or^ 

Many make the mistake, at this point, of 
wondering why the trouble has come upon 
them, and thus they delay victory. Instead 
of thinking of a situation as trouble, or be- 
moaning what seems a coming battle, we are 
to think of what a victory is coming to us, 
and strike the first blow by saying to our- 
selves, "Rejoice," and then assume an atti- 
tude of joy and light-heartedness. We are 
to go at the thing in a state of rejoicing, 
rather than in a state of complaining or of 
fear. Victory is certain. We must believe 
it and rejoice that we are victors and that 
events are certain to prove it. 

A sense of depression or discouragement 
attracts our attention. At the first notice of 
it, without giving way to it, we must throw 
ourselves into the state of joy and uplift- 
ing by saying, "Rejoice.'' No depression, 
discouragembnt, fear, or doubt can stand be- 
fore rejoicing. It was as Paul and Silas 
rejoiced and sang praise in the jail at Phil- 
ippi that night that they were liberated. 



20 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOU. 

Their praying and singing brought about 
such a shaking that no locks or stocks could 
hold them. Complaining wins no victory; 
but rejoicing does win. 

Push the thought of "Rejoice'^ right 
through your inharmonious condition, un- 
til by its positive force it disintegrates the 
inharmonious condition. If there comes a 
place in which it seems to meet an obstruc- 
tion and it seems difficult to push the 
thought, instead of relaxing the effort, add 
more force to it, and persist. Soon the nega- 
tive vibrations will change to the positive 
character, and you have overcome the situa- 
tion. 

If one forms the habit of so rejoicing, 
trouble can not assail him to harm him, and 
it can not remain. He sheds trouble or what 
would trouble him, if it were not for his at- 
titude of mind. This self-training is preven- 
tive. It not only gets one out, but it also 
keeps one out. It wards off. No one can 
tell what he has avoided by being divinely 



21 



REJOICE always; or^ 

led and protected. To him there is nothing 
evil or harmful. One does not see disagree- 
able things, if he has this habit well formed. 
He does not look for them or at them. Not 
looking that way, he does not see them. He 
is in a state of composure which is beyond 
disturbance. He is kept. Joy is of God, 
and to rejoice in the Lord always means to 
take this divine attribute into every situa- 
tion. 

It is said that there are depths of the 
ocean so profound that they are not percep- 
tibly affected by the most violent storms on 
the surface. So, in every person there is a 
region which can not be disturbed. We 
should dwell in the deep regions of our be- 
ing, where all is imperturbable calm. It 
will then be easy to let our self-control be 
known to all whom we meet. Excitement 
and its consequences will not occur. Be- 
yond the atmosphere are empyrean heights 
where no storms agitate. So there are 
heights of life which are beyond the ordinary 



22 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOU. 

troubled atmosphere of human experience. 
We must learn to dwell there. 

In the face of great loss and seeming dis- 
aster, as one was about to give way to com- 
plaining, suddenly there came, as if spoken 
by another, these words: ^^When you get 
where you can bear adversity without com- 
plaining, there will be no adversity to you.'' 
Here was the same idea of rejecting from ex- 
perience what usually has been regarded as 
hard to bear. He began by rejoicing in spite 
of the appearance of things, and when the 
thought of loss would come to mind, he 
would oven\^helm it with rejoicing in the 
Lord. Adversity was impossible, and a pros- 
perous turn soon came, proving that the 
word which had come to him was true and 
therefore divine. It seemed, from a business 
standpoint, that everything was about to be 
SAvept away from him, even his home. Ex- 
perienced men said that there was no chance 
for him. But, having had that word, that 
divine message, as he regarded it, he accept- 



23 



REJOICE always; or^ 

ed it as such and acted upon it. When 
doubts would arise, when a feeling of regret 
at his threatened loss would come, when an 
idea of self-pity or of complaint would come 
up, he would silence this by repeating, '^Ke- 
joice," and then the words of the message, 
"When you get where you can bear adversity 
without complaining, there will be no adver- 
sity to you." A sudden and unlooked-for 
turn came and that adversity which seemed 
inevitable did not come to him, and the very 
idea of adversity seems fast passing from 
his mind and experience. 

The effects of fretfulness and fault-finding 
are evident. Grumble one hour and watch 
the results. Your mind is all stirred up, 
and you are irritable and snappy. Your face 
is pinched and puckered and wrinkled. You 
look a year older than you did an hour be- 
fore. This certainly is not the effect of time, 
but of grumbling. Your complexion is not 
so clear. Your stomach feels disturbed. 
Your head is uneasy. Perhaps this does not 



^1 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOU. 

fully describe the effects of an hour of grum- 
bling. If you are not satisfied with this ex- 
periment and your scientific study of its 
results, continue grumbling another hour 
and study results. Note the effects not only 
upon physical lines, but also upon social and 
commercial lines. People shun you. No one 
enjoys your society. Even your own people 
keep away from you as much as possible. 
Do you think that you can do business while 
you are all kinked up with fret and irrita- 
tion? Is any one who frets in a mood to 
reach out into great enterprises and com- 
mand success? 

In a great city, famed for its far-reaching 
commercial activity, a member of a promi- 
nent firm has allowed the habit of fretting to 
become fastened upon him. "Allowed" is 
used advisedly ; for, if he had not allowed it, 
it could not have been. Every employe 
dreads to go into his private office with the 
matters which in the course of his own busi- 
ness each day come up for his consultation 



35 



REJOICE ALWAYS; OR^ 

and decision. His office is his den, unmis- 
takably. Can employes be in their most effi- 
cient state under such an employer? Will 
customers come there, if any other establish- 
ment can furnish even approximately as 
good service? 

Now try the more excellent way. Go 
away by yourself, and if you can, shut 
your door so as to be free from all inter- 
ruption. Speak ^ith yourself inside, such 
words as these : ^^Now I am alone with God. 
I drop out of mind all care, all responsibil- 
ity, all intensity. The divine Spirit now 
quiets me and imparts to me life, wisdom, 
love, and power. I am still and peaceful — 
still and peaceful." Speak soothingly. Now 
let the spirit of these words fill you. Soon 
you will feel a deep quietness and you will 
feel strangely rested and invigorated. Now 
say, "I am full of joy and rejoicing. I re- 
joice in God who is my refuge and my 
strength.'' The effects of your rejoicing you 
will notice in a mental uplifting and the 



26 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOU. 

stirring of your thoughts, new ideas com- 
ing with clearness and inspiration. A new 
confidence fills you, and you feel that you 
are master of any situation. Physically, 
you feel rested, nourished, renewed, and in- 
vigorated. It is a pleasure to be alive. A 
sense of bounding health pervades your en- 
tire being. New turns in business now 
come, and every*thing in life takes on a 
brighter look. You come forth victorious 
over yourself, and you go forth conquering 
and to conquer. 

Is it not hypocritical to rejoice when all 
things seem suggestive of the opposite? Is 
not such rejoicing sham and pretence? By 
no mea,ns so, when done in this higher un- 
derstanding with a definite purpose. It is 
not pretence, but sincerity, earnestness, the 
true way. It is bringing to bear upon the 
situation the power to readjust it. Is it 
hypocritical to row against the current? It 
is determination to use one's God-given pow- 
er and not drift with the stream or give 



27 



REJOICE ALWAYS; OR^ 

in to anything. It is using a higher de- 
gree of power to overcome a lower. In this 
rejoicing in the Lord one is dealing not 
with effects, but with causes; not with out- 
ward appearance, but with inward reality 
and power. It is a creating attitude and 
activity in which one projects himself be- 
yond the visible into the invisible. It is 
not merely rejoicing in hope; it is rejoicing 
in faith, and "faith is assurance of things 
hoped for, conviction of things not seen.'' 
It is this conviction of things not yet seen 
that is the basis of rejoicing in the Lord. 
Does one hope for anything which as yet has 
not become manifest to the senses? Then 
let him reach over into that region of the 
unseen hoped-for and believe that it really 
is, and let him rejoice in possessing it now. 
This is walking by faith, not by sight. One 
turns on the electricity, Avhen he wants light 
in order to produce light. So one turns on 
joy and uplifting. He calls it forth, brings 
it into manifestation or expression. When 



28 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOU. 

one sings, he first has the inner conception, 
and then the expression comes forth. One 
thinks and gets his own view as he speaks. 
Eliphaz says to Job: "When men are 
oast down, then thou shalt say. There is lift- 
ing up." Haying acquainted himself with 
God, one can, as Job, call the things that are 
not yet as if they were. 

Is it not cruelty, coldness, indifference, 
heartlessness, to rejoice all the time? Are 
there not times for mourning? We may 
reply that one does not need to give way to 
grief. It is no benefit to any one. Why 
did Christ,having compassion on the widow 
at Nain, say, "Woman, do not weep"? 
Surely, if grief were God's will and had 
been good for the widow, Christ would not 
have said and done what he did. His work 
on that occassion was what it has ahvays 
been, the saving or delivering of people out 
of their griefs and troubles and bringing 
them to joy and happiness. 

To overcome grief, retire into the inner 



29 



REJOICE always; or^ 



sanctuary of your own being and pour out 
your soul there before God, not in loud la- 
mentations, but in the language which he 
who sees and hears in secret can understand 
best, the language of the heart. Let your 
fasting be out of sight of others. We can 
rise superior to any experience that may 
come. It is not indifference or apathy, but 
the recognition of God and his power rather 
than recognizing any other. No one else 
can comfort as he can. The widow at Nain 
had no reason to weep; but if she had 
known, she had reason to rejoice in the Lord 
before her son's actual or manifest restor- 
ation. If she had known what Christ had 
in mind to do, it would have been easy for 
her. It is possible for us to know what is 
in the mind of God concerning ourselves 
and our affairs, and so to rejoice in him. 

One must use his will intelligently. This 
does not mean using one's will-power as 
this has been thought of by perhaps most 
people. The will is often used most unin- 



30 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOU. 

telligently and proved to be a poor reliance. 
A potent way to use the will intelligently 
is to speak the word. The centurion who 
sought Christ for the healing of his servant 
had the right idea: "Speak the word, and 
my servant shall be healed." He could 
command his servants, and they would 
obey ; so Christ, he preceived, having author- 
ity, could command healing. So he did; 
and nature, too, obeyed his word. He said 
that whosoever should speak to the tree or 
to the mountain, and believe, it should obey. 
This is speaking the word. Speak your 
word in this way: "I will rejoice. I will 
not give way to any negative or undesirable 
thing. I will master. Thanks be to God 
who gives me the victory.'' Nothing can 
resist such a claiming according to the 
method of him who gives authority. It is 
the practical application of his teaching and 
method, bringing to bear upon all situations 
the infinite power of God. 

Cultivate rejoicing in the Lord and be- 



31 



REJOICE ALWAYS; 0% 

cause of him. Let him be the ground on 
which you rest your rejoicing. It will 
then be irresistible. Rejoice right in and 
through everything that confronts you. Use 
rejoicing as your instrument or means 
to effect results. Overcome everything in 
this way. Let nothing put you down. At 
all times and all the time rejoice, and right 
through everything. You can be calm and 
steady, enduring as seeing the invisible One. 
It is easy to be bold when you realize that 
you have God backing you in everything. 
With such resources as his always at hand, 
fear or hesitation is ridiculous. 

The first step is to assume, or take to one's 
self, joy; to put it on as a garment, saying 
^^Joy" and "Rejoice'' till one's whole being 
vibrates and reverberates with the idea. 
Then he must keep at it, until his circum- 
stances so vibrate and reverberate ; keep at it 
until all w^ho come near him catch the same 
keynote and vibrate in harmony. When 
one strikes one key of the piano with un- 



32 



Happiness is for you. 

mufflled strings, the whole instrument 
catches the vibration and rings in harmony. 
So, as one person rings true to the Infinite, 
he wakens all humanity to harmonious vi- 
bration, and the music of human life is 
brought out in greater sweetness and power. 



33 



REJOICE always; or^ 



II. 



The Consciousness of God. 

*'The Lord is at Hand/' 

WHETHEE Paul meant Christ or God 
makes little difference to us, so far as our 
study of the way of life and of happiness is 
concerned. If we were merely interpreting 
his words to ascertain what he had in mind 
and wished to convey, it would be import- 
ant to decide the meaning and reference of 
^^the Lord.'' Our purpose, however, is not 
merely exegetical; on the contrary, it is to 
get out of the words the suggestion which 
they may afford. 

There is nothing to hinder our seeing in 
these words even greater meaning than Paul 
saw when he wrote them, a fulness of mean- 
ing greater than at first appears. Their 
value to us is what they mean to us ; and 



34 



HAPPINESS is FOlt YOtT. 

this is not limited to what the writer had in 
mind, but it extends also to what they sug- 
gest to us, what they set us to thinking and 
doing. Often the suggestion of a passage 
is greater than the strict meaning of the 
words. While one reads, if he watches him- 
self closely, he will find that some passages 
seem to have a meaning which the printed 
page does not show. A reader often gets 
from what he reads much that the writer 
did not have in mind at all. So also a hearer 
gets more of personal value to himself than 
the speaker means by the words that he 
speaks. The suggestion and the awaken- 
ing may be more than the actual meaning of 
the words. This is where the Holy Spirit's 
work is especially manifest. Read Peter's 
address at Pentecost and that after his heal- 
ing the man at the gate of the temple. 
iWhat struck the people with such power 
that the church had thousands added to its 
members at once? The addresses were sim- 
ple, the mere story of the Christ. The 



35 



REJOICE ALWAYS; OR^ 

results Were all out of proportion to the 
apparent cause; but the Holy Spirit, 
through the awakening of suggestions in 
the hearers, produced the marvelous results. 

One Sunday, in the course of his sermon, 
a pastor spoke in a certain way the words, 
"Not yet." A member of that church, a 
business man, felt the effect of those two 
words in connection with some important 
matters in his business, and they led to the 
solution of perplexing problems that had 
for some time weighed heavily upon his 
mind. The pastor knew nothing of what 
was taking place in his listener, nor did any 
one else in the church. The suggestion and 
application of the words were greater than 
the statement in which they occurred. To 
the hearer they had a special meaning which 
the speaker did not have in mind at the 
time. 

The suggestion and helpfulness of Paul's 
words are great. That God should be near 
at hand is not strange, since he is omnipre- 



36 



HAPPINESS is FOR YOtT. 

sent; and that he who said, "I am with you 
all the days, even to the consummation of 
the age/' should be at hand manifesting 
himself as he promised, is what we should 
expect. That the Infinite should reveal 
himself to the finite being whom he created 
in his own likeness comes to us as an infer- 
ence from the very fact of that likeness. 
Because human beings are alike, they are 
drawn into social relations. The affinity of 
man to God accounts for man's natural 
craving for the society of the Infinite and 
his never being satisfied until he has found 
and realizes this supreme requirement of 
his being. So the assurance of the nearness 
of this Being is and must be full of sugges- 
tion and help. 

1. The words suggest that, if the divine 
Being is at hand or near, it is possible for 
us to realize this presence and receive benefit 
from it. Already the way to realize the 
presence has been partly explained. Go 
away by yourself in some place in which 



37 



REJOICE always; oii^ 

you will be without interruption. As God 
is a spirit and man is like him, it must be 
in the spirit that communion and realiza- 
tion must take place. That about one 
which thinks, feels, and wills is the spirit, 
the essential self. The higher sensibility 
through which the consciousness of God is 
possible is finer than the five senses through 
which we become conscious of external 
objects; and incidentally we may remark 
that the higher sensibility is more reliable, 
because it brings to our knowledge absolute 
truth and is never mistaken. One is not 
mistaken in what he perceives through in- 
tuition. One may question whether he sees 
a real scene or a mirage, or whether any 
phenomenon perceived by means of the 
senses is a reality; but he can not question 
the reality of himself. The self is known 
by means of intuition ; and God is known by 
means of the same. 

Withdraw your attention from the senses, 
and get just as still in your mind as you can. 



38 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOU. 

Let down and let go ; let yourself stop think- 
ing as nearly as possible. No one can stop 
the mind's action : but, just as one can close 
his eyes and concentrate upon hearing, so can 
he withdraw attention from one way of per- 
ceiving and concentrate upon another. Do 
not try force, but repose. Hold yourself 
in a receptive attitude and let the realiza- 
tion come to you, let the divine inflowing 
take place. If you go to sleep, it will not 
be strange^ for the suspension of conscious- 
ness in both is similar; but presently you 
will make a turn, and when you withdraw 
attention from the senses you will find a 
higher activity attracting your attention 
and upon this you will concentrate. In 
sense-perception, we are passive to external 
vibrations, as of sound; and we are active 
in taking in and understanding them. So, 
in this higher perceptive power, we are 
passive and receptive to the vibrations or 
emanations from the Infinite, and active in 
taking them into oi-'^^^elves ^q that they 



39 



REJOICE ALWAYS; OR^ 

become our own ideas, feelirgs, and pur- 
poses. Practice in this line makes it easy 
and delightful, and, if necessary, it becomes 
expeditious. It can be very quick. 

2. Again, the words suggest that, if 
God is near, we have reason to rejoice; for 
when one realizes the presence and fulness 
of the supreme want of the soul, there can 
be no place or time for anything but joy and 
rejoicing. The very ground and condition 
of all happiness and satisfaction is present. 
Besides, as one rejoices in the Lord all the 
time, he keeps the consciousness of God as 
a permanent state, a ceaseless experience. 

3. Still further, since the divine pre- 
sence is an assured fact, there can be no 
reason for anxious thought of any kind. 
Is not the Creator and Ruler of the universe 
right here? It is not as if God were off in 
the heavens and had to come to our assis- 
tance when we call, or things might go 
wrong in his absence. There is no absence 
of God in fact ; what has seemed his absence 



40 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOU. 

is only man's not recognizing him. The sun 
always shines ; but the earth turns now one 
side and now the other towards the sun. It 
is our own turning our thought from God 
that makes it seem as if he had turned 
away from us. The true ground of com- 
placency and trust is the consciousness of 
God as a living reality. If we will only 
dwell upon this sublime fact, hold our 
attention upon it, until we have concen- 
trated the entire energy of the spirit upon 
it, we shall experience a sense of repose and 
security which nothing else can produce. 
God right at hand, Omnipotence sur- 
rounding and filling us as the lair surrounds 
and fills us. Where can be danger or diffi- 
culty? 

In this secret communion with the Father 
we receive that recompense which satisfies. 
Here is the secret of true inspiration. As 
you place yourself where the sun shines 
upon you and in you, lighting and warming 
you ; so place yourself where the Being who 



41 



REJOICE always; or^ 

is infinite wisdom and love may pour into 
your entire being the illumination of the 
Spirit, the divine and life-giving warmth of 
infinite love. Faith is this susceptibility to 
the Spirit's action ; so it is easy to see how 
the marvelous works which have been called 
miracles are attributed to faith and are said 
to be done by means of divine power. In 
this attitude of complete susceptibility, 
that power finds no resistance in one, and 
he becomes a conductor of divine power. 

When one seeks this spiritual communion 
and becomes susceptible, the first exper- 
ience may be accompanied by disturbance 
of mind, body, and circumstances. Should 
this be your experience, be assured of this, 
that the power that is working in you is 
bringing things into harmony in you; and 
so these outward and inward disturbances 
are the obstructions being removed, the jar- 
ring and the tearing loose of whatever does 
not conform to the higher power. Soon all 
becomes harmonious. The brook is disturbed 



42 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOU, 

where it flows over obstructions. What are 
the obstructions in one? Such things as 
are called doubts, distrust, fears, set opin- 
ions, prejudices, and unwillingness. Will- 
ingness is a great help to all advancement; 
a conductor of all good. Through this its 
perfect manifestation takes place. 

If you look at your New Testament, you 
will find that where it reads in the text 
"coming'' it reads in the margin "presence". 
The word in the original does often refer to 
the presence of one coming ; but its primary 
meaning is "being by or near,'' and so, 
"presence."' It is the realization of the 
actual being beside or by one that consti- 
tutes the consciousness of God which makes 
rejoicing easy and anxiety impossible. 

The constant practice of getting this 
realization of the divine keeps life perpetu- 
ally full and bounding. Make a practice of 
this silent communion every day and many 
times a day. It is well to take an hour in 
the morning, even if one has to get up early 



43 



REJOICE ALWAYS; OR^ 

to do SO. It is better rest and recuperation 
than sleep ; because sleep is natural, and 
this rest and this restoration are supernat- 
ural. Sleep is an unconscious surrender to 
the vital contact with the Creator; this 
silent communion is conscious surrender to 
the inflowing of eternal life. The former is 
natural; the latter supernatural. Since 
the very natui;*e of God is spirit, and man is 
created like him , nothing can be plainer 
than that all communion between God and 
man must be in spirit and reality. It is 
therefore necessary to retire into the secret 
chamber or inner sanctuary of one's own 
spirit where he is in yital contact with the 
infinite Spirit, if one is to realize God as 
present, if he is to be led by the Spirit of 
the truth into all the truth, if he is to realize 
the coming of the risen Christ, if he is to 
experience the baptism of the Holy Spirit. 
We must get still outside and inside, re- 
lax from all tension and strain. As we 
suspend consciousness of the outer, we 



44 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOU. 

awaken consciouness of the inner and con- 
centrate upon it. 

It must not surprise us, if, when we first 
attempt this silence, and even for some 
time, it seems as if our thoughts are all in a 
riot, and that they are more noisy and tum- 
ultuous than we have ever known them to be. 
It is only that we are now for the first time 
looking into a region of our being which we 
have not known, and we have not before 
known what was going on there. Now we 
must learn that divine presence which 
brings to us the peace of God which will 
Ixeep our heart, all this region into which 
we are looking, and all our thoughts, all 
these activities that seem so riotous, 
bringing all into order and harmony. If 
we are going to give ourselves to God for 
direction and power, our entire being must 
be brought under the discipline of obedience. 
If we remain faithful, we shall find all this 
done for us. Paul brings up the same 
thing in speaking of ^Varring and throwing 



45 



REJOICE ALWAYS; OR^ 

down reasonings and every high thing that 
is exalted against the knowledge of God, 
and bringing every thonght into captivity to 
the obedience of the Christ." Victory must 
begin right here, in one's self. 

While one is in this state of inward 
spiritual concentration, in this secret room, 
a strong sense comes of Another as present, 
unseen by means of the eye, unheard by 
means of the ear, and yet near ; nearer than 
any external object, near as the self to itself, 
and known as the self is known, with ab- 
solute certainty, by means of the intuition. 
There is an awakening in one's self of intelli- 
gence, feeling, and will ; of the entire being 
as spiritual and like God; and the effect is 
beyond description. It is the consciousness 
of God, the realization of his presence ; it is 
union and fellowship with him, the Spirit of 
the truth guiding into all the truth. 

When in the silence of the spirit we speak 
our words, we should let their meaning and 
suggestion linger in the mind, and let a real 



46 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOU. 

sense of tli'e unseen come to us in power. 
This is feeding on the word, assimilating its 
substance; and the word becomes flesh in 
us, entering into our very life and blood and 
muscle. It becomes bone of our bone and 
flesh of our flesh, and does not merely 
become our settled thought and belief; 
and further still, it extends to circum- 
stances and to all our relations with 
people and things. So, if our word 
is ^^rejoice" and everything else uplifting, 
cheering, encouraging, strengthening; and 
if all this is based upon what we 
surely know to be true, we shall have joy, 
happiness, and satisfaction upon a scienti- 
fic basis, indeed, upon an eternal basis. 

Speak such words as these in the way just 
described : "I am now in the presence of God. 
Father , fill me with thine own thought 
and love, and inspire me with thine own 
purpose and power. I thank thee. Now 
I am thinking the thoughts of God, as the 
Spirit guides me into all the truth. I am 



47 



REJOICE ALWAYS; OB^ 

moved with divine motives and emotions. I 
am determined upon the right course, and 
I have received power to pursue it to victor- 
ious achievement. I feed on the bread of 
life, and I drink in divine life and truth." 
Speak these words slowly, thoughtfully, 
conscientiously; and let their meaning and 
suggestion permeate you and become your 
own thought. Keep yourself in the spirit 
of these words for an hour, and then go to 
your work. It will surprise you to see how 
everything seems to fall into line and all 
things vibrate in harmony with your own 
thought as you have set it going in that hour 
in which you touched the chords of the deep 
movements of the spirit and of causation. 

There is a rhythm of harmony which 
means spiritual realization, mental develop- 
ment, health of body, success in undertak- 
ings, and that general welfare of all things 
which we call prosperity. If we can for 
five minutes every day touch that rhythm, 
we shall realize that which we are seeking. 



48 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOU. 

There is a region of our being in which all 
is perfect, a region of spiritual perfection, 
of health, happiness, and prosperity, a re- 
gion of peace. It is beyond the storms and 
the violence of human events. This has 
been called heaven, because it is higher than 
the ordinary plane or sphere of human life 
as people in general have lived. Only one 
has lived fully in this state as a man, the 
Christ, the ideal Man. Here are the true 
wealth and success and everything else that 
we can desire, and it is our privilege to live 
now in this sublime state, in perfect free- 
dom. 

It might be thought by some who consider 
themselves very busy that they can not 
spare the time to abandon all thought of 
business and let down from the cares of the 
day, especially during the hours of bus- 
iness. But it will be found not only possi- 
ble, but also profitable, and soon a necessity 
of successful business life. It is found that 
many of the most prominent men of bus- 



49 



REJOICE always; or^ 

iness, those who are busiest with great and 
multitudinous affairs, are following this 
way and they owe their success to it. It 
would surprise many people to know the 
number of prominent persons who have 
learned and are applying this method. 

Does the mechanic lose time when he 
stops his work to sharpen, adjust, and set 
in shape his tools? Is it losing time when 
one suspends action to see how best to direct 
his action? Can the mechanic afford not 
to take time to sharpen his tools? Can he 
do good work without it? To let down from 
business and get near to God, to realize his 
presence, is to sharpen and adjust one's 
tools, is to direct his action in the best way. 
Why stop to eat and drink? Is it not to get 
nourishment, so as to be able to do one's 
work? Equally necessary for the highest 
efficiency is taking nourishment into the 
essential man, feeding on the bread of life, 
drinking in the very life of the ideal Man. 

It is in the silent intercourse of the finite 



50 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOU. 

spirit with the infinite Spirit that all this 
takes place. In the consciousness of God 
as present is also the consciousness of that 
inflowing from the divine of the life-current 
which the blood symbolizes. We receive 
now the same physical life and power 
which have been promised after death; 
and as we receive it into ourselves we re- 
ceive the resurrection life and power which 
give one supernatural and superhuman 
efficiency. The business man, the pro- 
fessional man, the successful man in any line 
of action, the person in any walk of life, 
can niake use of this most potent means of 
gaining and accumulating energy, and not 
only not lose time by it, but also gain not 
only time but results far transcending any 
that might be otherwise obtained. 

Professor Phelps admirably says: "It 
has been said that no great work in litera- 
ture or science was ever wrought by a man 
who did not love solitude. We may lay it 
down as an elemental principle of religion 



51 



REJOICE always; or^ 

that no growth in holiness was ever gained 
by one who did not take time to be often 
and long alone with God. ^This kind goeth 
not out but by prayer and fasting.' No 
otherwise can the great central idea of God 
enter into man's life and dw^ell there su- 
preme." 

This love of solitude, whether one ideali- 
zes it or not, is love of the divine presence. 
In that state in which one thinks that he is 
alone, and his best thoughts come most 
easily to him, he is especially susceptible to 
the action of the infinite Mind upon him. 
He has thought that by getting aw^ay from 
people and affairs he has been able to think 
better, and has regarded the thoughts and 
purposes that have seemed to well up 
from a secret fountain in his own mind as 
originating in himself; but he has merely 
been thinking God's thoughts, letting the 
inflowing from the Infinite fill and inspire 
him. Kepler, studying the heavens and 
receiving into himself that divine inflowing, 



52 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOU. 

suddenly exclaimed as lie noted the grand 
conceptions that were filling his mind, "Oh, 
God! I think thy thoughts after thee!'' 
Dorner, the famous theologian, says: "We 
think God through God/"' This is the true 
secret of originality and the source of 
genius. This is the secret source of all 
growth and development. One must "take 
time to be often and long alone with God." 
Every one has time for what he really wants 
and loves to do. When one does not do, it 
plainly shows that he does not will to do. 

It is coming to be seen, and it is certain to 
be seen with increasing clearness and force, 
by business men and by other persons of 
thoroughly practical views and methods, 
that the teachings of Jesus Christ are the 
soundest principles of practical business 
and of all other relations of mankind. 
Nothing better could be imagined as a 
practical guide to successful and satisfj^- 
ing life than the Sermon on the Mount. 
When the mist of ecclesiasticism and 



53 



REJOICE ALWAYS; OR^ 

sanctimony which has hung over these 
matchless words shall have been burned 
away as the day of true enlightenment 
advances to noon-tide glory, their meaning 
and worth in practical, every-day living will 
come with irresistible power to people of all 
classes. Not religion or science or philo- 
sophy did he teach; but life, practical, 
abundant, eternal, was the object of his 
coming and teaching and work. ^^I came 
that they may have life, and may have it 
abundantly." He said nothing about reli- 
gion. Not once is the word recorded of 
him. The entire life is to be from God and 
in God and for God. 

Some one has beautifully said: ^^Cheered 
by the presence of God, I will do at the 
moment, without anxiety, according to the 
strength which he shall give me, the work 
that his providence assigns me. I will 
leave the rest, it is not my affair." How 
fully these words put before us the con- 
sciousness of God as the inspiration of life 



r>4 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOU. 

and action, as the true secret of the most 
eminent success. Here is no feverish ex- 
citement, no irritating ambition, no burning 
restlessness and smarting under circum- 
stances, no anxiety as to results or the judg- 
ment of mankind. Is not this our Long- 
fellow's idea of success, to do one's own work 
in whatever sphere he may be, without one 
thought of praise or of blame? 

Life is lived moment by moment; success 
is achieved moment by moment. As one 
does in the wisdom and the strength of God 
imparted to him the work that the divine 
providence assigns him, he can not fail to 
achieve results which tell forever in the 
advancement of mankind. 

You may have had hard luck, as the world 
counts luck. You may be feeling "down," 
and as if every man's hand is against you, 
and that every attempt that you may make 
will prove to be a disappointment and 
failure, just as so many things have done be- 
fore. Do you know that you are facing 



55 



REJOICE ALWAYS; OR^ 

towards zero, and that everything will seem 
to be bearing you downwards towards 
nothing, unless you change the action of 
your mind? You have got down under the 
situation, instead of getting above it and 
mastering it. You are letting the Jugger- 
naut car run over you, instead of getting 
into it and riding. It can be your destruc- 
tion or it can be your means of escape and 
safety, just as you get under it or upon it. 

Go by yourself alonewith God, determined 
that you will have this mental current 
turned in the right direction. Face away 
from zero or nothing towards infinity or all 
there is. Declare yourself a child of God, 
and claim your birthright of freedom. Suc- 
cess is yours ; and when you face in that di- 
rection, beginning with rejoicing and realiz- 
ing the divine presence, a turn will come in 
your affairs, as the turn in your mental 
state, and greater success than you ever 
dared to imagine for yourself will surely 
come to you. 



50 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOU. 

The causative moyement of mind which 
shapes the body and the circumstances has 
long been set in a negative direction. Now, 
since we are coming to understand the 
higher truths and laws, we are making a 
complete change in our thinking and doing, 
in this motion of spirit, this creative or 
formative energy, and so we are changing 
the condition of body and of circumstances 
from undesirable to desirable, bettering 
both body and circumstances, because we 
are bringing about harmony or order. A 
higher ideal is being worked out into mani- 
festation. This process is changing all the 
relations of things, bringing about a differ- 
ent state of vibrations, and this, to a super- 
ficial glance, seems as if things were getting 
worse. This, however, is not true. Things 
are simply adjusting themselves towards 
the perfect rhythm. 

"The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table'' 
gives a curious picture of the breaking up 
of old and settled things, using as his basis 



57 



REJOICE ALWAYS; OR^ 

of comparison the turning over of a stone 
in the field and so revealing the strange 
things hidden under it, the bugs and creep- 
ing things, and the grass that could not 
grow. ^^Next year you will find the grass 
growing tall and green where the stone lay ; 
the ground-bird builds her nest where the 
beetle had his hole ; the dandelion and the 
buttercup are growing there, and the broad 
fans of insect angels open and shut over 
their golden disks, as the rhythmic waves of 
blissful consciousness pulsate through their 
glorified being. 

^^There is meaning in each of those images. 
The stone is ancient error. The grass is 
human nature borne down and bleached of 
all its color by it. The shapes that are 
found beneath are the crafty beings that 
thrive in darkness, and the weaker or- 
ganisms kept helpless by it. He who turns 
the stone over is whoever puts the staff 
of truth to the old lying incubus, no matter 
whether he do it with a serious face or a 



58 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOU. 

laughing one. The next year stands for 
the coming time. Then shall the nature 
which has lain blanched and broken rise in 
its full stature and native hues in the sun- 
shine. Then shall God's minstrels build 
their nests in the hearts of a newborn 
humanity. Then shall beauty — Divinity 
taking outlines and color — light upon the 
souls of men as the butterfly, image of the 
beautified spirit rising from the dust, soar 
from the shell that held a poor grub, 
which would never have found wings, had 
not the stone been lifted.'^ 

Fear is not an attractive power , but 
rather is repellant in its effect. If we try 
to do business holding in mind fear lest 
our proposition will not be accepted, our 
very attitude and what we say and our tone 
and manner will awaken fear in the one 
whom we approach. People will distrust us, 
because we distrust ourselves. A very 
succesful lawyer remarked that he could not 
plead a case in which he had not himself the 



59 



REJOICE always; or^ 

conviction that he and his client were right. 
One can not do well when he talks against 
his own conviction; but when he has the 
right conviction in his own mind, he can be 
invincible. A man of large experience and 
great success in real estate, speaking of cer- 
tain large deals in which he had had part, 
remarked to me that before he approached 
a party with his proposition he would make 
sure to be in a cheerful and uplifting state 
of mind and have a certainty in himself that 
he was going to accomplish his purpose. 
He would never go to see any one on 
business while he was himself down-cast or 
depressed. Often he would wait several 
days for the right mood. He did not then 
know that he could at the time change his 
thought and mood by going away and com. 
muning in the silence with the Infinite, 
and not have to wait days. 

This is the advantage which any one who 
understands this secret of the silence has, 

tbat he caa wltiidraw and g§t SQ lOtQ the 



flO 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOU. 

mind and will of God that he will be in the 
right mood to accomplish anything. He 
can be in a proper mood all the time, because 
it is an inward and invincible joy perpetual- 
ly. His attitude and manner will draw 
about him everything that advances him 
and his object. He will believe in himself 
and his cause; and this will draw others 
to him and make them believe in him and his 
cause and work. They f,yill want to join 
with him and help him. 

We? have all noticed how, when we meet 
people, we feel the effect of some thing invis- 
ible about them, sometimes inspiring, 
sometimes depressing. It has been called 
an unconscious influence, because people 
are not always, or even usually, aware of it. 
Every person is surrounded by an atmos- 
phere which is charged with his own 
quality. It partakes of and proclaims his 
character; it shows the quality of his 
thought or inner state. One usually does 
not notice or even know this; but now people 



6X 



REJOICE ALWAYS; OR^ 

are coming to study its philosophy, and so 
are learning to make this radiation of soul- 
quality what it ought to be by going back to 
the centre and making the soul and its 
action what they ought to be. Conscious- 
ness of God does this transforming work. 

The spider spins and weaves his web and 
stations himself at its centre to watch what 
gets entangled in it ; but he keeps his centre. 
The plant standfe^ in its place and sends 
forth in every direction its sweet perfume. 
It is because of what it is at its centre that 
makes its atmosphere. O, if only people 
would ^^consider the lilies, how they grow," 
in this respect of surrounding themselves 
with a bright and fragrant atmosphere! 
One can make it what he will. A man 
whose station in life would hardly lead you 
to suppose that he thought much of such 
things spoke with deep effect in a company 
of the flower that comes up out of the 
ground, and beautifies its surroundings. 

We are all shedding an influence of our 



62 



Happiness is for you. 

own, whether we realize or not the extent of 
these influences or radiations. It is not by 
outward and direct persuasion that people 
influence or affect one another. If we al- 
ways keep in touch with God, we shall have 
the right atmosphere ourselves and be free 
from undue effects of the influence of others. 
This is the real secret of what is often 
called personal force. It is an emanation of 
one's own interior force or power, a radia- 
tion of one's quality, wherever he may be, 
and, whether he intentionally projects this 
force for definite purposes or whether he 
does not even recognize its existence. The 
educator and the banker radiate different 
qualities, because they are engaged in 
different lines of work, and with different 
people. They live in different worlds. 
Some people depress you, because they dwell 
in an atmosphere of failure and discourage- 
ment, alid they keep habitually thinking 
and talking about such things and expecting 
them. Depressed themselves, they radiate 



63 



REJOICE always; OR^ 



to others depression. Some uplift you, 
because they dwell in an atmosphere of 
happiness and success. They think and 
talk about everything positive and uplift- 
ing, and expect good things. They stand for 
success and all else desirable. 

It is easy to understand all these things, 
if one gives them attention. If you will, you 
can, through the silent communion, make 
your own atmosphere and world, make them 
what they ought to be ; and you can make 
yourself so positive that you will not be 
affected to any extent by others, whatever 
may be their mentality. Then, from your 
positive centre, you will be able to minister 
to them in this region of their being in 
which your help will be most effective. 
Your personal force can be made what you 
will, and it will be telling. It will be a 
blessing to any one whom you meet. Re- 
member this: We can always take one of 
two positions: Either the helper or the 
helped. To be always seeking is a sign of 



64 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOtJ. 

weakness; to give positive help to another 
blesses both him and yourself. 

Every one who has watched himself at 
all has observed how by repetition a thing is 
fixed in mind and a habit formed. The 
mind acquires facility of action and tends to 
act of itself along the lines of repeated 
action. If anything starts it that way, it 
tends to go through to completion. In this 
way we can form habits of thought and 
action. Cultivating cheer, it becomes a 
habit. One can set his mind going and 
train it in any way he chooses. The 
constant suggestion and repetition of a thing 
makes a deep effect upon one and tends to 
make it permanent. 

In this way one can train himself so that 
when he meets a situation, instead of go- 
ing down before it, that deeper current of 
thought which he has developed in the silent 
intercourse with God lifts him up and 
bears him over it, master of the situation. 



65 



REJOICE always; OR^ 

Thus the trained mind is not swerved when 
it meets a problem. 

If you watch the working of the gener- 
ators in an electric traction plant, you will 
observe the constant motion of the govern- 
ing apparatus as it adjusts the power to 
suit the constantly varying demand for 
power along the line of traffic. So, when 
the mind gets trained in the right way, it 
acts automatically, adjusting itself and its 
power to the various requirements that 
arise. If we touch something hot, the hand 
draws back before we have time to think 
about it; so we find that the mind will 
spring to deal with situations at once, 
without our stopping to go away for silence 
for special direction. Our training has 
put us so in harmony with the divine that 
we are ready beforehand. It is easy for the 
trained mind to deal with problems. 

The effect of all this silent communion 
and training is beyond estimate. One can 
not be conscious of this divine presence 



GG 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOlJ. 

without feeling delivered from all neg- 
ative and undesirable things; from 
thoughts, feelings, and purposes that do 
not accord with the divine. One is thus 
bathed in spirit, cleansed from all ques- 
tionable things of mind and heart. It 
is the washing of regeneration, the baptism 
of the Spirit. On the positive side, we are 
inspired with all good, urged to its realiza- 
tion and expression. Spirtually and phy- 
sically we are free from all hindrance, 
charged with power that is directed to effi- 
ciency. 

Consciousness of the Supreme Being as a 
living reality, consciousness of his pres- 
ence and power, is the basis of hope, of 
cheer, of confidence, and therefore of suc- 
cess. Nothing can depress one whose mind 
is absorbed in the consciousness of God. 
To stay the mind on him is to concentrate 
the attention on this consciousness. This 
is the first step in realizing one's relation 
to God, that of loving fellowship, partner- 



67 



RtejoicE always; oft^ 

ship in everything. Can God fail? Can 
Oianipotence get to the end of his resources? 
Can he be anxious, depressed, or discour- 
aged? 

Association with people of superior 
mentality uplifts and inspires. Associa- 
tion with God lifts one to divine realization 
and to mastery over all things. Since 
man is like God, he should act like God. 
Cheer, keenness, courage, confidence — all 
these are based upon the consciousness of the 
divine as right at hand. One is led or 
guided, and is kept from mistake. No awk- 
ward retreats are necessary while one fol- 
lows God. When others misjudge and mis- 
treat, the consciousness of God who is infi- 
nite love upholds, sustains, and comforts. 
We see better things coming. This enables 
us to rejoice at all times, all the time ; to be 
in that cheerful and happy state of mind 
which is the very essence of satisfying 
life, to be gracious and gentle toward all, 
regardless of what they think, say, or do. 



68 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOtJ. 

It does away with violence and harshness 
in sentiment and in action. It banishes 
all fear and consequently all anxiety, 
worry, fret, and doubt. It puts out of 
life and experience all that depresses and 
disturbs. It brings into life and exper- 
ience all that makes life satisfying, be- 
cause it brings God into every moment, 
into every experience, into every situation 
or problem, into every thought, imagin- 
ation, and action. It makes the divine a 
constant reality, and manifest in every 
situation and condition. It means life, 
health, happiness , success, personal un- 
foldment, eternal advancement. 



69 



REJOICE always; 0% 



IIL 



No Anxiety. 

"About nothing be anxious. '* 
THESE words are not opposed to ac- 
tive exertion for objects desired, to earnest 
and determined endeavor for the accom- 
plishment of purposes and the attainment 
of ideals; but they put one in the best 
frame of mind for effective action, that 
state v/hich is most conducive to success- 
ful endeavor. This statement is opposed 
to faintheartednbss, whether it arises from 
one's consciousness of his own inability, 
from distrust of himself, or from want of 
trust in God. It is fear that leads to 
anxiety ; anxiety, to faintheartedness ; and 
faintheartedness, to failure. When one 
knows the truth, he knows that God is 
greater than anything that can arise and 
be called danger, difficulty, or perplexity. 



70 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOU. 

^^Acquaint now thyself with him and be at 
peace; thereby good shall come unto thee." 

The idea of rejoicing runs through this 
entire passage. No anxiety is to be al- 
lowed to disturb one's joy. Conscious- 
ness of God do^es not permit anxiety. Cul- 
tivate confidence in God and in yourself as 
in union and co-operation with him. 
This is true self-reliance, because it is not 
based on one's self as apart from the In- 
finite, but as in union with him; based on 
God, the eternal foundation and the 
infinite source of all things. This self- 
reliance leads to effective action. 

The nature of anxiety is Veil known. 
The origin of the word is suggestive, a 
root meaning to choke. Anxiety is a 
tight mental state, in which one is choked 
up in his mind and his proper mental act- 
ivity is restrained and constrained under 
his intensity. Here is distraction, the 
drawing apart or in different directions, 
rather than concentration. In such a state, 



71 



REJOICE ALWAYS; OR^ 

one does nothing, or else he does just what 
he ought not to do. 

The occasions of anxiety are many and 
various. One may be anxious about his 
own welfai^e or safety, his health, his hap- 
piness, his business, or his home; about 
himself or about others; about the past, 
the present, or the future; about persons, 
things, or events. One would embark in 
an enterprise, but his imagination pic- 
tures to him obstacles and difficulties, 
and he is afraid to begin, lest he fail. But 
this is just where the turn of success 
is made. Daniel Webster, when he first 
started in his career as a lawyer, felt as 
if he were utterly incompetent and could 
neVer succeed; but he persevered and did 
not run aw^ay or give up, and he became 
a most eminent jurist and statesman. Had 
he yielded to that feeling of fear, he would 
never have amounted to anything; but hav- 
ing overcome that, all things set in his favor. 
George William Curtis remarked that he 
fjever went upon the platform to speak with- 

72 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOU. 

out having the feeling that he should break 
down in. failure. But no one would ever 
have suspected it; for he went forward, re- 
gardless of that feeling, and so eloquently 
did he speak that he was called "the silver- 
tongued orator." If he had gone according 
to his feelings, he would never have spoken 
or done anything. 

On the eve of great achievent, it is 
not unusual to feel the most like failure and 
impossibility. Anxiety is a most embar- 
rassing thing to have, unprofitable, and hin- 
dering rational action. It never pays divi- 
dends in anything desirable. It is this 
point of apparent collapse that is so import- 
ant in every one's career. Just when fail- 
ure and disaster seem unavoidable is the 
time to push right on and disregard appear- 
ances. More will and determination put 
forth at that time will turn the tide, and 
glorious results are certain. 

The results of anxiety, worry, and dis- 
traction are marked and varied, Some are 



REJOICE always; or^ 

mental, such as the scattering of force, 
rather than concentration; unbalancing of 
judgment; an unsettled, vacillating state, 
now pushing forward, and now drawing 
back ; lack of command of one's self and of 
his abilities and resources. Anxiety im- 
pairs perception of the real situation ; judg- 
ment as to what should be done; and will, 
resolution, or determination to do and to 
mastier. Some results are physical. The 
anxious mental state is shown in the breath- 
ing, the circulation, the digestion, and var- 
ious other ways, as well as in the counte- 
nance, the gestures, and the pose. The anx- 
ious look of the face every one knows ; but a 
little observation makes it evident that the 
face is not the only part of the body that is 
affected by the tight and constrained state 
of mind. Under the fitful action of the 
mind, the bodv shows out strain, excitement, 
reaction, and depression. So, mentally and 
physically, as is evident, the victim of anx- 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOU. 

iety is at a disadvantage, unfit for proper 
action. 

Some results are in circumstances, both 
social and commercial. Cramped in mind 
and body because of anxiety and worry, dis- 
tracted, scattered, and hesitating, one is to- 
tally unfit for society or for business. He is 
incapacitated. He is never at his best, 
wastes energy, misdirects power, and is in a 
whirl. From a business standpoint, anx- 
iety is a poor investment. It is expensive 
in every way. It brings no good results, 
but may lead to disaster. In this day of 
gigantic transactions, of unheard-of oppor- 
tunities and possibilities, of vast capital 
and enterprise, there is the utmost need of 
coolness, insight, good judgment, and of 
prompt, bold, and free action. Decision 
and perseverance are necessary. Anxiety 
can not be permitted. From a commercial 
standpoint, it must be eliminated from one, 
if he is ever to take his place among the great 
leaders in the commercial affairs of the 
present time. 

75 



REJOICE ALWAYS; OR^ 

It will be sefen, if one studies the careers 
of truly successful people, that such per- 
sons have great self-command and do not 
allow themselves to become anxious over 
possible adversity, but keep themselves fac- 
ing in the direction of success. With them 
it is not a matter of what might be, if cer- 
tain things should go to pieces or if present 
plans should miscarry ; on the contrary, it is 
their thought to bring to bear upon the sit- 
uation every means that can be summoned 
for the purpose of succeeding. It is not a 
question of expense in this or that particu- 
lar, but of results. Everything goes for the 
one object, the successful result. 

Examples might be shown in great num- 
bers. In the midst of a storm, it became 
necessary to lighten the ship by throwing 
part of the cargo overboard ; and the owner 
of the cargo set to work marking the pack- 
ages with his name as an advertisement of 
his goods. That was facing in the right di- 
rection, that of success. Wherever those 



76 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOU. 

packages might be picked up, he thoughtj 
they would be excellent advertisements. It 
was a time of disaster and great loss, so far 
as appearances went, and according to the 
view of the vast majority of people ; but here 
is evidence that defeat can be turned into 
victory, and disaster into advantage. It all 
depends upon how one thinks about it and 
takes it. Submission to the situation and 
groaning at the loss would have been the 
usual course of people ; but to rise above all 
that and turn the loss into investment was 
mastery of the situation. Is it any wonder 
that a man who could face such a situation 
and turn what the world calls disaster into 
a means of advertising has achieved a world- 
wide success? that he has hundreds of stores 
in all parts of the w^orld? 

The basis of anxiety is ignorance. If one 
always knew for a certainty that his re- 
sources were ample for any em.ergency or 
requirement that might arise, he would have 
no fear, and therefore would not be anx- 



77 



REJOICE always; or^ 

ious. It is not knowing Avhat to do, which 
v/ay to turn, what may be the requirement, 
and what are one's resources that makes one 
anxious. It is more imagination than any- 
thing else, what might be or may be, that 
makes distraction; the unreasonable eager- 
ness to meet any attack or demand. The 
imagination shapes ^4fs" and "ands," diffi- 
culties which never arise in fact. But 
doubt and distrust are based on such things, 
and so one might as well have real difficul- 
ties as imaginary ones; for if one acts on a 
supposed difficulty, the results will folloAV 
his action, just as if based on a real diffi- 
culty. Hence hesitation and vacillation are 
uncertain acts of will, based on uncertain 
perception or on imagination. It is lack of 
will intelligently directed. It is not assert- 
ing that dominion over all things which was 
given to man, but has never been accepted 
and acted upon in its full measure, except 
by Jesus Christ. The true basis of practi- 
cal dominion is faith in the living God and 



78 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOU. 

in one's stelf, a conviction of what is and 
action based upon it. What one believes 
that he can be and do he can be and do ; for 
"all things a^re possible to the one who be- 
lieVes.'' 

How to stop anxiety and worry when once 
started must now be considered, as it is very 
important that they be stopped. 

First we must resolve that we will stop^ 
not sometime, but now. The way to stop 
anj^thing is to stop it, not to do it, not to 
think about it, not to talk about it. When 
the thought of anything about which we 
have been anxious comes to us, we must not 
let the thought stay, must not entertain it, 
must not think it through, but oppose the 
first suggestion of it. It must be dropped 
out of mind. No strenuous will or resist- 
ance is necessary ; but rather, a negative at- 
titude — we just do not think it. 

We are to cultivate assuming what we 
will ; so we assume, or put ourselves into, a 
state of mind such as we know is best, such 



79 



REJOICE always; or^ 

as a state of good cheer, by saying, "Ee- 
joice/' and then voluntarily assuming a joj- 
ous expression of face, and a joyous man- 
ner. We can image a joyous state of 
mind, and then act it out, or let it come out 
into expression. It requires no force of will 
to do this, no strained effort. We can im- 
agine it; and then the natural tendency of 
our entire being is to conform to this image, 
to fall into line according to law, just as the 
tendency is to draw conclusions from prem- 
ises. Paul states this in a wonderful man- 
ner: "We all, with unveiled face beholding 
as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are 
transformed into the same image from glory 
to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit." 
It is astonishing how one can call forth light 
in the darkest night. One feels the reflex 
effect, if he voluntarily changes the turn of 
the corners of his mouth; and if he holds 
his head up, he feels more courage than if he 
allows his chin to get close to his breast. 
"Chin up," is the word that has helped more 



80 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOU. 

than one man greatly amid things that 
usually depress people. 

To throw one's self into a sprightly man- 
ner, to lift up the head land stand erect, to 
breathe deeply and straighten up, — ^all these 
have an actual and evident effect upon the 
mind and help one. Let us assume that 
everything i^ right, and act as nearly as we 
can as if this were manifestly so. It will 
help to make it manifest, because it is a 
creative, determining attitude of mind. The 
mind tends to repeat or continue its action ; 
so, if one does assume something desired as 
already manifest, repetition and continua- 
tion of this act of assuming or reckoning be- 
come increasingly easy, and then a settled 
habit. The outward manifestation of all 
this is like the precipitation of the unseen 
into the forms of the seen, as the gold held 
in solution in the bath is precipitated upon 
whatever is placed in it for plating. 

We must inform ourselves as to our re- 
sources; take an inventory; think of who 



81 



REJOICE always; or^ 

and what we ai'e. In the mind one says: 
"Who am I, that I should be afraid or anx- 
ious? I am more than any situation, more 
than any state or condition. I am master, 
not slave, of circumstances. No person or 
thing can put me down or dismay me. I 
am a child of God, and all his resources are 
pledged to aid me. I must not, I can not, 
I will not, fail or be discouraged or be anx- 
ious." He must now act as if he believed 
all this, as if he were convinced in his own 
mind that all this is true. It is assuming 
what he wills to manifest. Presently this 
creative action culminates in actual results, 
the things assumed in the mind made mani- 
fest in outward form. 

It is not wise to run to this and to that 
one for advice or assistance. Consult with 
yourself, think for yourself, summon re- 
sources from the unseen; act for yourself. 
When a problem confronts you, determine 
to work it out yourself. This makes every- 
thing interesting. See what you can make 



82 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOU. 

of yourself and of a situation. Get your 
own view of the situation. Form your own 
plans and act according to your own meth- 
ods. Trust your own judgment and ability. 
If you get the advice of others, you must ul- 
timately decide for yourself. Every time you 
think and act independently, you develop 
your own ability and become more fit for 
larger opportunities. Never bury your tal- 
ent in the ground or hide your pound in a 
napkin. 

"We fight it out on this line, if it takes all 
summer,'' wrote Grant. He knew the sit- 
uation; he knew his resources; he believed 
in himself and in his success, he did not 
worry, was not anxious. He had the convic- 
tion that right where he was would surely be 
the decisive victory which would end the 
war and settle the destiny of the Union. It 
was the place to stay until the event should 
take place. Time was not an essential fac- 
tor in the problem; it was the result that 
was all-important, and upon this he con- 



83 



REJOICE always; or^ 

centrated, and this only did he see. To him 
there was but one thing to look at, the pur- 
pose which he wished to accomplish. If one 
would overcome yacillaton and uncertain- 
ty, let him settle in his mind what he really 
wants, what is the real destination for which 
he is headed, and let him keep his attention 
upon this, in his mind leaping over all that 
may intervene between his present station 
and that destination. It is often amazing 
to see how the intervening steps are taken 
with little attention or effort. Have we not 
all noticed at times how we seem to reach 
our journey's end so much more quickly and 
easily than we anticipated? 

How to prevent anxiety iw«^ as important 
as how to get rid of it. Better to keep out 
than to get out. One should not only get 
out of the old habit of worry, but he should 
also keep out of it; indeed, no one should 
ever get into such a habit. But now a new 
habit must be formed, that of never being 
anxious. It is just as easy to form the habit 



84 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOU. 

of not being anxious as to form any other 
habit. It requires will intelligently used. 
When anything looms up in what seems to 
be enormous proportions, threatening to 
to overwhelm you, you just loom right up 
above it and realize that you are bigger than 
anything that can arise, because you are in 
union and fellowship with God. "Be not 
afraid of their faces'' was the divine word of 
old; and how it comes with power in this 
connection ! 

We should never go under or succumb. 
We can draw in our breath and hold it, fac- 
ing the situation. It is suggestive that 
spirit means breath; so we draw in spirit, 
fill ourselves with it. It was when the 
Spirit of the Lord came upon Samson that 
his supernatural strength was realized and 
displayed. We can say, "I will not worry 
yet. I will not give up yet. No — not yet. 
Somehow the way must open." The instant 
anything suggests fear, anxiety, or worry, 
the moment there comes a thought of im- 



85 



REJOICE always; or^ 



possibility or of failure, we are to meet it 
with the Sword of the Spirit, which is the 
Word of God, the Word of truth. We can 
say, "You have no power oyer me. Be 
gone !" This is speaking one's word of com- 
mand which is creative power. Moses had 
to speak his word before the sea opened and 
made a passage for him and his people. 
Christ spoke his word, and the storm was 
calmed. God spoke his word, and creation 
sprang forth. "Do you not yet under- 
stand?" Why do you let that mountain 
stand, when your word might send it into 
the sea? 

We should cultivate the easy way of doing 
things, free from anxiety and strain, con- 
stantly acting with an inward calm, firm, 
steady, and masterly. We must delay get- 
ting anxious about work or results. Never 
do to-day what you ought to put off until 
to-morrow. When you almost worry, say, 
"Not yet!" Put it off until to-morrow. 
The best time to worry is to-morrow; never 



86 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOU. 

to-day. Consider the inestimable worth of 
man, of yourself, the child of God. All 
things are for him, and for you. Infi- 
nite Wisdom, Love, and Power planned and 
created all things for man who is his own 
likeness. Think of this when circumstan- 
ces seem supreme. God is supreme. Man 
in his divine likeness is given dominion. It 
is not like God to give in or to give up. 
Though we do not jet see man always as- 
serting this dominion, we do see Jesus as the 
great Exemplar, asserting this dominion 
over all things. 

A most excellent and effective way to get 
rid of anxiety and to avoid it is that which 
Peter mentions: "Throwing all your anx- 
iety upon him, because he cares for you." 
The moment we have an anxious thought, 
we are to put it in God's care, commit it to 
him — our every anxiety. Whatever may 
come up that can give us any concern, we 
must hand it over to God to deal with, for 
him to work out. He can forsee and can 



87 



REJOICE ALWAYS; OR^ 

manage and adjust things so much better 
than we can, that for us, knowing what we 
do of him and his ways,to allow ourselves 
to be anxious is to display our lack of faith 
and trust in him. We can, in a simple and 
child-like way, ask him to take whatever is 
troubling us and work it out according to 
his own way of infinite wisdom. This does 
not mean that we shall not have anything 
whatever to do ; but the anxiety, the sense of 
burden, the distraction and fear, will all 
leave us, if we truly leave things all in his 
hands. He may show us what to do or to 
say, and we must be prompt to obey. We 
m.ay be required to keep our hands entirely 
off the affair. But we shall always find 
that results come about better than if we 
were managing things, and as we look back 
afterwards and see the entire working out 
of the problem, we shall see how much bet- 
ter all has been done than if our own plans 
liad been followed. 

The attitude of trust is to be cultivated. 



8S 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOU. 

All things are coming out right; they are 
shaping now. We must believe it, trust it. 
God is working all things together with us 
for good. Let us say so, and then believe 
that what we are saying is taking place. 
Whether we see it, feel it, or not, no matter ; 
we must see it with the mind's eye, and keep 
it in view that way until we see it with the 
outward eye, and all others see it. We 
m^ust be convinced that it is; must grasp it 
with the mind's hand and hold fast to it till 
the unseen becomes seen, and the impossible 
becomes possible. How the divine likeness 
is thus proved! 

Examples of such freedom from anxiety 
are many. Close study of them shows that 
deliverance can not fail to come to any who 
in tight places put forth their power in 
prayer and praise, rather than in anxiety, 
murmuring, and complaining. Luther 
feared no enemies, but braved everything, 
rejoicing in the Lord all the time. He was 
not anxious. History tells of many more 



89 



REJOICE ALWAYS; OR^ 

examples of boldness and freedom from fear 
and anxiety. The soul that trusts in God 
can not worry. While Peter kept his eyes 
on Christ, he did not sink, but walked upon 
the water. It was when he looked at sur- 
roundings that he sank. No one who keeps 
steadfastly looking upon the Christ can sink 
in any waters. 

People who are in the world and of it may 
have reason to be anxious and afraid, be- 
cause they live on that plane, amid fears 
and cares. They believe themselves sub- 
ject to surroundings, and keep saying that 
they are; and, logically, they act as if they 
were. Thus they allow themselves to be in 
bondage, and they acknowledge and even 
claim their subjection to things. Accord- 
ing to their belief it is unto them. They do 
not know how to overcome. ^They are not 
of the world, just as I am not of the world," 
said Christ of his followers. In him one 
lives above the world, out of that order of 
things, in the realization of that victory 



90 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOU. 

which he gained. We must believe that we 
have already the victory, and then act as if 
we had it. 

But people on the usual plane of life, the 
natural, as it is called, look to things for de- 
liverance; relying on things lower in the 
scale of being than themselves, and do not 
look even to their own higher powers. They 
may well be anxious, therefore, in certain 
situations, because they do not recognize 
the way to mastery; but the believer in 
Christ, never. Anxiety, however, will not 
help any, but will unfit them to do even 
their own best. The Stoics did, in a meas- 
ure, appear to overcome fear, but they killed 
out joy as well as fear, because they ren- 
dered themselves insensible to either. But 
that was not real mastery. Insensibility 
is not mastery. This reminds us of the 
ostrich, that hides its head in the sand and 
flatters itself that it is safe from its 
pursuers. The only guaranty of safety, 
security, deliverance, is God and faith in 



91 



REJOICE ALWAYS; OR^ 

him ; and the only way to realize this safety 
is his way, which is simple, just to believe 
that you have it This makes it a fact to 
you. Then act as if you had it, act as one 
who has it should act. 

Those who know the higher life and law, 
the law of liberty, have nothing to fear in 
all the universe. There is nothing in all 
human experience about which they have 
reason to be anxious or to worry. No 
matter what the situation, condition, or 
problem, there is a way out. Deliverance 
is theirs, and they have a right to claim it. 
Egypt, the Red Sea, the Wilderness, the 
Jordan; Joseph in Egypt, Daniel in Baby- 
lon — what demonstrations that the living 
God does deliver! To-day there is deliver- 
ance for all people, for every person ; but to 
make it an actual fact of experience, one 
must believe it. That is taking it for him- 
self. Nothing in human experience is ever 
so bad as it seems. It is imagination run 
riot that exaggerates appearances ; but faith 



92 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOU. 

in God restores sound judgment and brings 
mastery. 

It may be asked, ^^Can one so cultivate the 
will that he can live without worry?" The 
answer is, "Yes.'' Suppose that one is a 
victim of injustice and misrepresentation, 
and he sees their effects upon people all 
about him, those whom he has regarded as 
friends dropping him and avoiding him for 
no reason, so far as he is concerned. The 
damage is irreparable, and h'e wonders to 
what extent this is going. Can he keep 
from being anxious? Can he go right on 
living without anxiety? Certainly. "Bles- 
sed are you when they shall reproach you 
and persecute you and say every evil thing 
against you, lying, because of me; re- 
joice and exult, because your reward is 
great in the heavens." Can anything ex- 
ceed these words? Rejoice right in and 
through such things; for in that region of 
stability, unmoVed by human error and mis- 
judgment, that region in which absolute 



93 



REJOICE ALWAYS; OR^ 

truth abides, you have a great reward. Your 
rightness shall shine forth, the fact that you 
are right, and you shall be victor. 

Perhaps this will result in one's being 
thrown out of his present place into that 
y>^hich is incomparably larger and better, 
and so he finds his true enyironment, work, 
and destiny. It is not until the eagles are 
pitched out of the nest and have to sustain 
themselves on the trackless air that they 
learn to move in the element for which they 
are destined. Look at the situation in 
which you are, and see whether there is not 
in it a higher meaning than at first appears, 
and that what seems, in ordinary judgment, 
disastrous is not really the premonition and 
preparation for something gTeater, higher, 
and better for you. 

Suppose that there is competition, so that 
business seems almost impossible. How can 
one avoid strain? Let him look away from 
the situation, up to God, and let him re- 
joice in the Lord and in his abundant re- 



M 



Happiness is for you. 

sources. That business in which he is en- 
gaged, and which seems overdone, is not all 
there is for him. That is not the last and 
only thing in the world for him. Let his 
appreciation of himself rise to its proper 
level. If he will refuse to be anxious to-day ^ 
will put it off until to-morrow, he will soon 
see an opening into something that just 
suits and satisfies him. 

Suppose that it is a mental trouble that 
threatens to incapacitate one. Still there 
is deliverance. The one great fact of Om- 
nipotence pledged to help him is sufficient. 
Suppose that it is physical v/eakness or ail- 
ment that makes existence a burden and am- 
bition a disappointment. Still, anxiety will 
not help, if indulged in, but rather it will 
intensify the trouble. Any observer knows 
this. God is able and willing to deliver out 
of this, as innumerable cases have demon- 
strated. 

Paul speaks of his own experience of the 
thorn in the flesh. Whatever that was, ob- 



95 



REJOICE always; OU^ 

serve tliat God did not send it upon his 
apostle, and that the grace which was suffi- 
cient, or availed, for him was not for his 
bearing or putting up with the trouble, but 
for overcoming it. "My grace avails for 
thee." Avails — then it must have overcome 
for him. That divine strength which is 
made perfect in human weakness is the su- 
pernatural mastering where the natural 
fails, the higher bringing the lower into line 
with itself. This is deliverance. Then anxi- 
ety can be put away and kept away, and that 
which might occasion anxiety can be so re- 
adjusted that harmony and peace prevail. 

Paul's answer to all such questions is the 
same: "About nothing be anxious." In the 
Greek, the word translated "nothing" is the 
first word in the sentence, and therefore is 
emphatic. We must allow nothing whatever 
to make us anxious or to worry or fret. 
Such a state of mind betrays lack of com- 
mand of one's self and of one's resources. 
We mus^ cultivate the art of dropping from 



96 



flAPPlNESS IS FOE YOtT. 

the mind what we wish to drop, and of con- 
centrating upon what we wish to concen- 
trate upon. We must let go responsibility; 
drop our burden. 

Practice along that line makes what seems 
at first impossible very simple and easy. We 
do not need to reason about it, but do it. All 
this is within the range of people of merely 
ordinary endowments. Any one can do all 
that is required. One does not need to be 
known the world over as a saint before he 
can do this. Every one has will enough, but 
not every one uses it properly, scientifically ; 
but every one who does use his will intelli- 
gently does get results which prove untold 
possibilities. To set the will strenuously 
upon some object and then fret lest it may 
not come out as desired is not using the will 
intelligently. That is what ordinarily is 
meant by will-power; but it is a poor thing 
at best. Set your will upon some object, and 
whenever a thought of fret comes, stop the 
fret and turn the same energy that it takes 



97 



REJOICE always; or^ 

to fret upon attaining the object. Anxiety, 
worry, or fret is so much steam going from 
the safety-valve, rather than into the cylin- 
der. Properly used, the energy produces de- 
sired results. 

As this habit of not worrying is culti- 
vated, this habit of composure, complete vic- 
tory is gained over the old way of doing, 
and the great truth that one is to be anxious 
about absolutely nothing becomes clear and 
settled in the mind. One gets beyond worry, 
into a state in which he can not worry, even 
if he should try. Yet this is not apathy or 
indifference; but it is getting so into the 
higher rhythm of the infinite Mind that one 
realizes that the statements of Christ and 
of those who have followed him are not 
pious cant, not extravagant utterances, but 
are scientific, demonstrable truth, and per- 
fectly practical. 

People have read, "Let us glory in our 
tribulations, knowing that tribulation work- 
eth out patience," and they have not per- 



98 



HAPPINESS IS FOlt YOU. 

ceived the significance and value of PauPs 
exhortations. This is nearer right: "Let 
us glory in our pressures [such as we meet 
in every-day experience] ^ knowing that the 
pressure [as we master it through faith] 
works out steadfastness.'' This is that 
pressure which Christ said that we have 
in the world. James speaks similarly: 
"Knowing that the proving of your faith 
works out steadfastness." The pressures 
are the situations and problems, the tight 
places, which we are constantly meeting in 
our relations with the world. They are 
places in which our faith is brought into ex- 
ercise, put to the test, called forth into use 
to meet and to master the situation, and as 
we solve the problems, holding fast in faith 
to the reality, there is worked out or devel- 
oped steadfastness,endurance, or constancy. 
So, each problem that we find before us we 
are to rejoice in as an opportunity to use 
the divine poVer and to master. When we 
have a problem before us which calls forth 



99 



REJOICE ALWAYS; 0% 

our faith to master it, we must master it 
first in the spirit or mind, and then the 
outer or manifest follows according to law. 
We are not to bear any undesirable thing, 
saying that it is sent for our good; but we 
are to put forth this God-given supernatural 
power and overcome, not bear, the thing. 
"To him that overcometh'' is the constant 
refrain in the messages to the churches in 
the Revelation. Faith overcomes; it does 
not submit. "Where is your faith?" asked 
Christ after he had calmed or overcome the 
storm to which the disciples had submitted. 
The best scholar is the one to whom the 
teacher gives the hardest problems, because 
he is able to solve them. We are to glory 
or rejoice, not because something undesir- 
able meets us or exists, but we are to glory 
or rejoice right in the pressure of the situa- 
tion and in spite of it, and so master it. We 
are to rejoice, when such things are met, 
that we have the way to conquer them. We 
are to hold our right state of mind, regard- 



100 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOlf. 

less of anything external, and so conquer the 
external and bring it into the shape that 
suits us, the right and true shape. The 
tool must keep its edge, even though it cuts 
through and carves out what its master 
wills. Materials for building a house are 
before us in heaps; shall we complain be- 
cause of this, or rejoice that we have them 
in readiness for construction, and that we 
can build as we choose? When we learn to 
meet problems and situations in the spirit 
of joy and rejoicing, with a hearty "I can 
and I will" instead of a weak and cowardly 
"I can't," we shall be beyond worry; we 
shall rejoice right in our situation and in 
spite of it, thus denying its power over us, 
shedding its apparent effects, rising above 
and mastering it. This is asserting power 
and dominion over things, conquering them, 
shaping them as we will. ^^In the world 
you have pressure; but do not fear, I have 
overcome the world." 

The largest business enterprises can be 



101 



RtJJOICE ALWAYS; Ofi^ 

carried on without anxiety or worry. The 
greatest and most far-reaching causes can 
be carried to triumph without anxiety. The 
most trying ordeals can be gone through 
without fear or worry. The most delicate 
tasks can be performed to perfection with- 
out anxiety or tightness, in an easy and mas- 
terly manner. The penman who writes so 
perfectly that his writing looks like plate- 
work does not tighten up or tremble with 
anxiety, but acts with a free hand and 
steady. Take as your watchword, ^'Never 
fret," "Don't worry," "About nothing be 
anxious." 



102 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOU. 



IV. 



Prayer and Supplication. 

*'In everything by the prayer and the statement of 
need ... let your requests be made known unto God." 

HERE is a striking contrast: nothing — 
everything; anxietiy — sprayer. If one has 
confidence in God, he is confidential with 
him, not only when difficulty arises, but also 
all the time ; not only about some things, but 
also about everything; not only in what 
seem great things, but also in the little 
things of every day and hour. 

The full significance of the words is not 
brought out in our usual translations. "By 
the prayer and the statement of need,'^ ap- 
propriate to the occasion, is the meaning. 
Prayer is address to the Diety, and has 
reference to the form that is used, being 
a general term, prayer in general. The 
next word is specific in its reference, mean- 



103 



REJOICE ALWAYS; OR^ 

ing the supplication, petition, or entreaty 
which expresses what one needs in any 
situation or on any occasion. In it the 
idea of need or requirement prevails ; so the 
word means the statement or expression of 
need, of what is required. The definite ar- 
ticle brings out each separately: sometimes 
one will u^e prayer in general; sometimes 
specific, business-like statement of the par- 
ticular need in mind. The word "reques^ts'' 
means petitions, things asked for ; the word 
being used of requests of the will, especially 
asking for something to be given. Desires, 
what one wills, must be expressed in some 
definite form, either aloud in audible words 
or silently in the soul. 

"Prayer is the souFs sincere desire 
Uttered or unexpressed." 
The heart is to be unburdened hj talking 
things out to God, thinking them into definite 
forms as desires or determinations, positive 
choices, decisions, and volitions. We have 
all noticed how, when we speak out what is 



104 



' = HAPPINESS IS FOR YOU. 

on our hearts, we experience relief from 
pressure. There was once a person who had 
a practice of writing out, as a letter to a 
friend, all that burdened the heart, and then 
putting the letter into the fire. This always 
brought the desired relief. 

But better than this is telling all to the 
Father in perfect confidence. It is the sure 
way of deliverance. So, too, it is putting 
forth poAver to master, and is the way to ac- 
complish. There is in such an expression a 
purifying effect upon one's desires. It 
clears out of the mind all but the best and 
highest. No one knows what he does want, 
until he tries to express it. The endeavor 
to formulate a desire does actually bring it 
into definite form before his mind. No one 
can approach the Infinite with a question- 
able petition. The very idea of asking from 
God eliminates all that is low and un- 
worthy. 

This is not strange. When one speaks 
or writes, he always finds that he can go 



105 



REJOICE ALWAYS; OR^ 

over what he has said or written and do it 
better. Bacon wrote his famous Essays 
many times over before he published them. 
Statement of one's thought clears out what 
d(>es not bear searching examination, and 
makes one positive of what he does think 
and say. Statement of our need and de- 
sire clears out what is not up to the highest 
standard, and makes us positive of what we 
do want, and enables us to concentrate upon 
that. Such prayer is power. It is creative. 
"Whatsoever you will, ask, and it shall 
become for you." God is pledged to answer. 
Let there be no wavering in the mind, but 
firm and steady confidence and expectation, 
clear, positive, and definite. 

"In everything" admits of no exception. 
No matter how great or how small, there is 
but the one wav to master what is before 
US. Whatever one's state of mind, exalted 
or depressed, he is to converse with the in- 
finite Father in childlike simplicity and 
confidence, stating his needs, what he re- 



106 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOU. 

quires or desires, and giving thanks for the 
things desired or asked for. Here is a 
mutual friendship, companionship, and 
confidence bet^^^een God and man. It must 
be in eyerything. It must be about every- 
thing. If God is infinite love, then there is 
nothing in our experience that does not con- 
cern him, in which he is not particularly 
and deeply interested. This applies to 
every individual. The Infinite knows no 
limitation. , 

It must be in every condition of body, 
every degree of health, vitality, and 
strength; when one feels the n^ed of more 
of these qualities; when he notes that im- 
provement can be made in any respect. In 
every situation, wherever one may be, 
however things may seem, whatever the cir- 
cumstances, whether travel, business, man- 
ufacture, enterprise, or politics, the same 
method applies. "In everything by the 
prayer and the supplication,'' the statement 



10' 



REJOICE ALWAYS; OR^ 

of need, appropriate to the occasion, mate 
known to God your requests or petitions. 

In business matters, this is the one 
practical method which insures success in 
the highest sense of the word. Let the 
business man understand that he has no 
other resource comparable with this. ^^By 
the prayer and the statement of require- 
ment" let him present to the Father his idea 
and his plan, and let him in a definite, 
business-like way state the situation as to 
a partner whose interest in it is intense and 
whose means are unlimited. This partner 
is not a mere millionaire, but the one Being 
whose resources are absolutely without 
limit. When business men learn to follow 
this way, the world will advance beyond the 
grandest conceptions that now come into 
man's mind. ^ 

The method is simple. Once recognize 
that God is person and man is person, that 
both are in essence rational spirit, that 
intelligence, love, and will are characteristic 



108 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOU. 

of both, that self-consicousness and self- 
determination are the essential characteris- 
tics of both, and the method of communion 
between God and man is as simple as that 
between man and man. 

Speech, the putting of the action of ra- 
tional spirit into w^ords, is the method. But 
speech may be either oral or in the mind as 
the silent word, the breathing forth of the 
spirit. Silent communion is often the only 
kind practicable, and is just as effective as 
oral. But with deeper knowledge and ac- 
quaintance, closer fellowship, a mutual un- 
derstanding is reached more quickly than 
by oral or by silent words. This is heart- talk, 
spiritual communion, life and thought in 
common. There is no covert plan, thought, 
or intention; but frankness, openness, per- 
fect confidence. We all know that we under- 
stand one another often times before Avords 
can be spoken, or even a thought formulated 
in the mind. It is a flash of understanding. 

Now, if you close your eyes and shut out 



109 



REJOICE always; or^ 

the five senses, refuse to notice what may 
through them come to your attention, you 
will be conscious of yourself just the same. 
That self is spirit; and ic knows, feels, and 
wills, so we call it rational spirit, possessed 
of reason ; it is conscious of itself and it de- 
termines its own action. Outward appear- 
ance does not affect all this action of the 
inner and essential self. You can, in that 
secret region of your being, think, and you 
can send your thought to any one else any- 
where in the world, regardless of space. If 
this is new to you, all will become clear, if 
you will consider that you can think of any 
one, whoever he may be; is it not easy next 
to see that if you think of or about a person, 
a subtle, all-pervasive substance, finer than 
air, finer than ether, conveys your thought 
of that person to that person? You have, 
undoubtedly, observed how some one will be 
in your thought, for some reason, and pres- 
ently you see or hear from that person. You 
were the recipient of that one's thought of 



110 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOU. 

you as it was borne to you in this subtle me- 
dium. 

We do not hear these thoughts by means 
of the ear. We hear or perceive them in that 
region of our being which, for want of a 
better name, we call the inner region of pure 
spirit. This is the region in which we think 
these thoughts; that is, out of this deep 
region we send forth our thoughts, and into 
this region we receive such thoughts from 
others. In such experiences of thought-com- 
munication, often noticed in dreams which 
come true, we get glimpses of our nature, 
possibilities, and destiny which deeply im- 
press us. What powers of social intercourse 
are yet to be developed ! 

Is it not plain now from all this how we 
are to speak to God and be heard, and how he 
speaks to us, and Ve hear? It is all in the 
spirit. God is spirit and we are spirit ; and 
our mutual communication is in spirit and 
reality. Between us and God passes the 
flash of mutual understanding, as the light- 



111 



REJOICE always; or^ 

ning passes between the clouds and the earth 
both ways ; and clearer than if words audible 
by means of the ear were spoken is the 
understanding. When the voice was head 
from the heaven, as Christ said, "Father, 
glorify thy name," "I have both glorified it, 
and I will glorify it again," people did not 
understand it. Some said that it had thun- 
dered; others said, "An angel hath spoken 
to him." Jesus said, "This voice has not 
come for my sake, but for your sakes." But 
the deep communion of susceptible spirits 
is not misunderstood. A finer vibration 
than sound, in a more subtle element than 
air, has been the medium of communication. 
In this, distance and time do not enter. 

The Supreme Being, according to all 
reason, is evidently a free and intelligent 
Cause. All creation shows or expresses his 
thought, feeling, and will; man's nature 
reveals the likeness of God and man. God 
shares with us his ideas, his plans, and 
his purposes; takes us, so far as we are will- 



112 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOU. 

ing, into loving confidence. So he lifts^ in- 
spires, and makes us strong, and brings out 
our likeness to himself. Christ, who was 
always in full fellowship with the Father, 
could say, "The Father loveth the Son, and 
showeth him all things that he himself is 
doing." In him the divine likeness was per- 
fect and complete, and in us it will be just 
as we are willing to have it. 

The form of prayer and statement of need 
may be that of asking, of commanding, or 
of declaring or claiming, as one uses this 
power, for such it is, the power of prayer, 
the power of spirit. , 

One may ask the Infinite to give or to do, 
making his request formally as a petition or 
asking; or he may ask just as the need or 
requirement is observed, as the situation 
evidently i^equires, or as the wish or desire 
comes into his mind, telling the details as 
to a partner or to the Father ; or it may be 
as a little child in simple trust would ask. 
This is the method pursued usually, it seems. 



113 



REJOICE always; or^ 

by such wonderful demonstrators of this 
power as Luther, Franke, Trudel, Harms, 
CulliSj Muller, and others. 

One may, with the consciousness of divine 
authority, speak to the thing that he wishes 
to go or come, commanding it; he may com- 
mand it to take place or become, thus calling 
it into manifestation or into action, out of 
the unseen into the seen, as God did in crea- 
tion and as Christ did when he stilled the 
storm. When we singjVe call forth out of the 
unheard into the heard ; is it strange that we 
should call forth out of the unseen into the 
seen? The universe is so constituted that 
we may have just this power. 

Again, one may, with the understanding 
of the divine plan and agencies, declare or 
claim that the thing required or desired 
really is, because it is in the mind of God and 
so eternally is, since God is the basis of all 
creation or manifestation. The universe is 
so made, and God so intended it, that it is 
man's stage of action and he has power, 



114 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOU. 

co-operating with God, and shares in the 
great work of carrying to accomplishment 
the great plan of Gad. If we abide in the 
Christ and his words abide in us, ^\^e must 
know God's mind, and that is why we are 
to ask whatsoever we will or determine, and 
it will take place or be created for us ; thus 
we become creators. 

Man can act as if he were under natural 
law, in nature and of it, and so subject to 
those laws; or, he can act as if he were 
above and beyond nature, subject to higher 
or supernatural laws, and so having domin- 
ion over nature. Our destiny and real place 
is the supernatural. The former is man's 
usual life ; the latter is his true life and what 
he must come to enjoy. The former is the 
natural or Adamic man, psychic or domi- 
nated by the soul; the latter is the super- 
natural, redeemed, or Christ man, spiritual 
or dominated by the spirit. This explains 
what Paul means by saying that there is a 
natural body and a spiritual body. We can 



115 



REJOICE always; OR^ 

live and act on the lower plane, the earthly, 
according to the natural and temporal, or we 
can live and act on the higher plane, the 
heavenly, according to the supernatural and 
eternal. When we use the power of prayer, 
we use this supernatural power and produce 
supernatural results. 

We are to deal definitely with God, in a 
business-like way. This is merely according 
to reason and good sense, and does not con- 
flict with reverence. We are to get a clear 
idea of what we need, and then definitly state 
that need. One reason why our prayers are 
not apparently answered is that they are so 
vague that they can not be resolved into any 
definite request for anything in particular, 
therefore it was not prayer, but merely 
empty talk. This is not business-like, not 
rational, not reverent or even respectful. 

Managers of great coroporations, when 
they are to have a meeting with the directors 
or with the president, study the business 
conditions, prospects, opportunities, resour- 

116 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOU. 

ces, and needs; formulate plans, present re- 
quirementj explain the state of affairs, all in 
compact and pointed shape for presentation 
and consideration. Just so should we do 
in our dealing with the Infinite. We are 
delegated by the Infinite to certain specific 
work, our calling, our commission, our place 
in life; and we are to be as business-like in 
this as if we were employed by a great cor- 
poration. Or, we may consider ourselves 
as in partnership with God, and ourselves 
as consulting with the senior Partner. So 
Georg'e Muller did. 

One of the great secrets of success in busi- 
ness is definiteness of aim and action. Thor- 
oughness of comprehension of the entire 
situation and of details is also of great im- 
portance. Those who have risen from ob- 
scurity to heights of power have had these 
qualities conspicuously. So also in God's 
business these are equally important. In- 
deed, is not all business God's? Can any- 
thing exceed the businesiS-like method of 



117 



REJOICE always; or^ 

Christ in feeding the multitudes? Note 
the deflniteness and the comprehension; 
everything in perfect order and in practical 
manner. 

We are to take counsel with the Infinite 
constantly, not as a head of a department in 
a corporation is given a certain policy and he 
is left to work out the details, being held 
responsible for results; but in every particu- 
lar we are to confer with the Infinite. We do 
not have to shoulder heavy burdens and re- 
sponsibilities alone. In our business rela- 
tions with our divine Partner, we are to 
take up every detail, for nothing is trivial 
in his sight. Dare to count the thing agreed 
upon with God as done, as an actual fact, 
though not yet manifest, and then proceed. 
Can you not call the things that are not yet 
as if they were? If God can and does so 
call or speak of them, would you be untruth- 
ful, if you did so? Can you not have that 
confidence in God and his word and way? 
You invest your money in government bonds 



118 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOU. 

or even in those of a corporation, and you 
count on your interest as a sure thing; but 
you base your expectation upon human 
promises, calling the things that are not as 
if they were whenever you count your in- 
terest before it is due and paid. 

Every day we count upon our fellow man 
and his promises ; why should we find it hard 
to count upon God and his promises? Many 
times man's promises prove disappointing; 
often things counted upon are not forthcom- 
ing; and yet you go right on counting on just 
such promises as have not been fulfilled. Is 
it easier to take such promises and count 
upon them than to take God's promises and 
count upon them? We can bring things out 
of the unseen, can share with the Creator in 
the work of carrying on the creation, finish- 
ing it, redeeming it. Nothing can be more 
fascinating or delightful than this fellow- 
ship and co-operation with the Father. 

Two little boys very much desired new 
rubber boots. In the morning they asked 



119 



REJOICE ALWAYS; OR^ 



their grandfather if he would not please give 
them each a pair of rubber boots. He made 
no reply, but went to his business. On his 
return at night, he went as usual to the nurs- 
ery to see the children, and as he opened the 
door he saw, printed on the floor with chalk, 
these words : ^^We thank you. Grandpa, for 
the boots." He had brought them home with 
him, but had not taken them upstairs; yet 
the children did not know that he had 
brought them, for they had not seen or heard 
anything to indicate it. They had taken the 
boots by faith. They had believed that w^hen 
they asked they should receive, and they did 
receive. It is for us all to become as the 
little children for faith and simplicity, and 
then it will be easy for us to take God at his 
word, and when we ask for anything believe 
that we take at the time, and then claim it 
with faith and trust, expecting to see and 
handle what we have asked for. Can we put 
on record, as those little boys did, our thanks 
for the gifts asked for? 



120 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOU. 

All this is based upon and implies the fact 
that God is a rational spirit, a person in the 
philosophical sense, that is, a being who is 
self-conscious and self-determining. In no 
way does it contemplate address to a thing, 
to an idea, or to an abstraction of the mind. 
It is dealing with an intelligent and free 
Cause, a Being who thinks, feels, and wills, 
and with whom, therefore, man can intelli- 
gently and freely deal and co-operate. This 
is immeasurably better than one's denying 
that there is any God higher than himself. 
It is true that all our work with God is in 
spirit and truth or reality, that his revelation 
of himself is within us; but that does not 
mean that we are not to distinguish God 
from ourselves and from our own ideas. 
Such ^^new thought" as does not so distin- 
guish is unsound thought. 

All this implies, further, that prayer and 
the statement of need, the making of our re- 
quests known to God, brings results. All 
is according to definite law or rational 



121 



REJOICE ALWAYS; OR^ 

method, God's law or method of doing; for 
law is but the expression of will, the will of 
the lawgiver. Can we not, therefore, study, 
understand, and apply this law of prayer as 
well and as confidently as the law of gravi- 
tation or of electricity or of mathematics, 
which are all merely God's other ways or 
methods? In the prayer that is properly 
so called, one gets into harmony with God 
through communion with him, gets into his 
state of mind, sees things as he does, con- 
ceives of them as he does, purposes as he 
does. As one in this way communes with the 
Father, they both come to have thoughts, 
feelings, and purposes in common. 

Is not this what the great Teacher means? 
^^If you abide in me, and my words abide 
in you, whatsoever you will, ask, and it shall 
become for you.'' When one is in the same 
essential or spiritual state and action as God, 
is he not abiding in the Christ, and the 
Christ's words abiding in him? And is it 
hard to see that then he has only to ask what 



122 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOU. 

he wills and it becomes or is created for him? 
One then knows what to say and how to say 
it, knows the real needs which he is to state. 
In such union with Omnipotence, one can not 
fail to produce results. "In this is my 
Father glorified, that you produce much 
fruit, and be my disciples.'' Fruit stands 
for results, what may be produced. 

This is no place for empty words to a 
mere abstraction of the mind, a vague, im- 
personal Something; but for definite deal- 
ing with a rational Being to whom a rational 
being can make a rational address. The 
Father, with Jesus Christ, was not an idea 
or an abstraction, but a living reality, an 
actual person to whom he spoke and who 
spoke to him; and there has never been an- 
other than Christ with such knowledge of 
the truth and such demonstration of poAver. 
Lay before the Father your statements, your 
needs; bring to bear upon every situation 
and problem his power, and so bring about 
results which glorify God. But this is not 



123 



REJOICE always; OR, p^ 

"goody-goody'^ religion or sanctimony. On 
the contrary, it is thoroughly practical and 
satisfying. It is business-like, because it 
produces results. It is scientific, because 
it is always in accordance with law, always 
proceeds according to known facts, and cause 
and effect are always manifest and in true 
proportion. Lincoln was a man of prayer. 
He said that he never decided a great ques- 
tion of public affairs without first seeking 
divine wisdom and direction. There is no 
other way to account for his career than to 
regard it as directed by divine wisdom and 
made successful by divine power. As power 
is put forth, so results follow. It is reliable, 
worthy of the utmost confidence, and thor- 
oughly practical. 

All this accords with the highest under- 
standing of the truth or reality, with true 
science, philosophy, and religion. It ac- 
cords with the highest reason and the high- 
est experience. 

How prayer is a power is not hard to see; 



124 



HAPPINESS IS FOE YOU. 

for it is the bringing of man's rational 
powers to concentrate upon some object 
desired. When he so concentrates, he 
turns to the Infinite and draws from that 
source a greater degree of rational and crea- 
tive power than he has realized or employed, 
and it increases as he so concentrates. Be- 
yond the degree called natural is that which 
is supernatural or higher than the natural. 
Asking, commanding, and declaring are 
methods of concentration and of drawing 
from the Infinite, the finite co-operating with 
the Infinite. This brings out of the univer- 
sal power the particular manifestation of 
power required in any situation or on any 
occasion. 

It is all according to law, or definite 
rational method, uniform and universal. In 
it man realizes his oneness with the Infinite 
in essence and action, in being and power. 
Belief or faith is this concentration; it is 
persuasion or conviction of what really is 
before it is perceived by means of the senses, 



125 



REJOICE ALWAYS; OR^ 

and it is such concentration of creative ac- 
tion that it brings into the range of the 
senses the reality which before was beyond 
their reach. It is a positive state and action 
of mind, of rational spirit. Nothing can 
shake it or resist it. "All things are possi- 
ble to the one who believes." All states of 
mind, all situations and circumstances, are 
subservient to it. It overpowers all things 
and makes man manifest his union with God. 

What is the effect on character of telling 
God everything, consulting him on all oc- 
casions and regarding all matters? Is it not 
weakening? Does it not depress? Are we 
not to do all we can ourselves, and when we 
can do no more, call upon God? Are we 
not thus to cultivate independence and self- 
reliance? 

A little thought will bring the answers to 
these questions. Appeal to experience, and 
let this be the test. Let one realize that he 
has come into actual communion with the 
infinite Spirit, the Creator and JRuler of the 



126 



HAPPINESS IS JB^OR YOU. 

universe, infinite Wisdom and Power; that 
he therefore has divine direction as to what 
he is to do, and has divine power without 
limit to enable him to do what he is directed 
to do. Can this have a tendency to weaken 
one? to weaken his will? to blunt his in- 
telligence? to depress him with a sense of 
dependence? Can it be desirable or profi- 
table for any one to try to cut loose from God 
and be independent of him in whom we live 
and move and have our being? Those who 
have tried it have met with disastrous re- 
sults. 

The very fact that we are dependent upon 
the Infiinite and derive our wisdom and 
power from him makes us realize that 
nothing can stand before us or baffle us. 
Does not association with a strong character 
always lift up and strengthen us? It has al- 
ways been remarked that it does. Then as- 
sociation with the Infinite must be propor- 
tionately uplifting and strengthening, as 
much as the Infinite surpasses the finite. It 



127 



REJOICE always; ok^ 

must develop one beyond anything else con- 
ceivable. 

Such co-operation with God brings out 
one's own thought, and as he states it before 
God, he finds that falsity falls away and 
the truth comes forth, his own thought be- 
comes clear. His feelings and his will are 
brought into unison with God's. He finds 
himself brought into the great thought and 
life of the Infinite. So it becomes evident 
that the preaching of the Christ, "Change 
your thought, for the kingdom of heaven is 
at hand," is not sanctimony, is not religion, 
but is practical life, and it is profoundly 
significant that there is no record of his using 
the word religion^ but often the word life; 
"I came that they may have life, and have it 
abundantly." Life more abundant and life 
satisfying and eternal he came to bring man 
to realize and enjoy, here and now and 
always. 

In this way are developed insight, under- 
standing, in all clearness and fulness; right 



128 



HAPPINESS IS tOi YOU. 

ideals, correct motives ; will, both as proper 
and right choice and as strong and persever- 
ing volition. With this consciousness of the 
Infinite and of power from that source, one 
has certainty of success. This is true self- 
reliance, self-assertion, and self-denial; for 
one denies that he is a self separated from 
the Infinite, because the finite can not exist 
apart from the Infinite; asserts his divine 
selfhood or Christhood, and relies upon him- 
self as like God and in union with him. Do 
everything with the consciousness of divine 
direction, approval, and help, and you will 
grow in confidence and power. You will 
know what "telling everything to God'' d6es 
for one. 

In all this, prayer is brought before us as 
a positive and practical power in the uni- 
verse, applicable to every situation and con- 
dition. It is a definite and practical way of 
bringing power to bear upon the situation, 
upon the every-day needs of every person. 



129 



REJOICE always; Oit^ 

It is the only way to life that satisfies and 
abides forever. 



130 



Happiness is for yoU. 



Chapter V, 
Thanksgiving. 

'*With thanksgiving." 

THE fifth point in Paul's direction for 
right living is Thanksgiving. Our life and 
work are to be all in loving fellowship and 
partnership with God, the Father and the 
child living and working together. In 
everything we are to consult with God. 

These principles were all taught by Christ. 
Study his words, and you will see how con- 
stantly the ideas of joy and rejoicing come 
up. "Ask, and you shall receive, that your 
joy may be filled full." Study his acts, and 
see how often he rejoiced and gave thanks. 
At the tomb of Lazarus, he said : "Father, I 
thank thee that thou didst hear me.'' On 
many other occasions we find him praising 
and thanking the Father, as when it is said : 
"In that hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit 



131 



RfiJOICE ALWAYS; 0% 

and said, I praise thee, Father, Lord of the 
heaven and the earth, that thou didst hide 
these things from the mse and prudent, and 
didst reveal them unto babes." 

There was not an anxious hour in his 
career. Even in Gethsemane and on Cal- 
vary he was not anxious. His constant con- 
sciousness of the Father's presence, the con- 
sciousness of God, and his communion with 
him prevented any possibility of anxiety or 
fear. He who said of those who were cruci- 
fying him, "Father, forgive them, for they 
know not what they do," showed no anxiety 
Or fear, but only forgiving love. He proved 
what man can do, if he dwells always in the 
full consciousness of God ; for, whatever may 
be one's view of him, as to his divinity, he 
was as a man among men, and as a man he 
spoke and acted; as a man in living union 
with God, as every one should be and can be. 
In this way he brings out the glory of hu- 
manity. , 

Accompany your prayers and your re- 



132 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOtf. 

quests with the giving of thanks. It is a 
simple and natural thing to do. It is a com- 
mon courtesy or politeness. It is a curious 
thing that it seems easier to be polite to a 
stranger than to persons of one's own house- 
hold. The endearing relations of home 
ought to make politeness there easy and de- 
lightful. Why should one not be as cour- 
teous and polite to his own family as to out- 
siders? Why should one not be as polite 
and courteous to God as to man? Must we 
be told to say ^Thank you" in our dealings 
with our Father? 

Give thanks for things received and ask 
for more. God never draws the line and 
says, "No more for you." He glorifies him- 
self in giving more. Love is self-giving, and 
so infinite love is infinite, boundless, un- 
limited, self-giving. "Ask, and it shall be 
given unto you." Shall be, not "may be." 
It is a universal fact. If we ask anything 
according to his will, according to his way, 
method, or law of prayer and stating of need, 



133 



REJOICE ALWAYS; OU^ 

he hears and answers us, and we have what 
we have asked for. 

Yet many do not take or accept, even 
though it is given to them ; and so many say 
that their prayers are not answered. They 
do not do their part; for they do not helieve 
that they have taken or received what they 
have asked for, and so they do not give 
thanks for it. Taking what is asked for 
and given is all-important. We must never 
say that a prayer is not answered ; but say 
that the answer has not been taken when 
given, because it was not looked for or ex- 
pected. We must learn to take, to believe 
that we have received, what we have asked. 
This is taking by faith, and claiming that 
we have. Seeing is not believing. We must 
believe in order to see. To give thanks is to 
acknowledge that we have received. 

We can learn to give thanks for what we 
believe that we have received as easily and 
confidently as for what we see that we have 
received. But the glory of faith is in the 



134 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOU. 

former, while the latter is commonplace. 
The former is co-operation with God in 
causing what we will ; the latter is not causa- 
tive. The one is eternally progressive, un- 
folding, becoming ; the other is, has become, 
has taken place, is all that it will ever be. 

No draft on God can ever be too great. 
Infinity can never be overdrawn. Supply is 
infinite, because it is of God; demand is al- 
ways finite, limited, can be expressed in 
measure. Even our mathematical infinity 
is not strictly infinity, because creation is 
finite. If only we could believe this great 
truth that God is absolutely without limit, 
we should never think in any situation that 
the end had come, but we should rise into 
the higher i^ealms of power and from this 
region bring down to the situation all that 
might be required. 

Giving of thanks is the recognition of the 
giver or the doer, acknowledgment of the 
favor received, expression of appreciation; 
the graceful thing for a grateful person to 



135 



': REJOICE ALWAYS; OE^ 

do. It opens the recipient to greater recep- 
tivity, and he is more ready to take greater 
things, more ready to ask for them. The 
higher one climbs, the more he sees; so the 
more one gets into this partnership with the 
Almighty, the more his vision enlarges and 
his ability and efficiency increase. The un- 
grateful soul puckers itself and shuts off that 
experience which enlarges as the abundant 
supply of God is realized and enjoyed. 
Thanksgiving opens the giver or doer to 
greater gifts or deeds. It makes much diff- 
erence in one's willingness to grant favors, 
if those already granted have been received 
with thankfulness. The effect of the thank- 
fulness of the recipient is to open the heart 
of the giver or doer to give or to do more. 
A closer fellowship results in mutual confi- 
dence and regard. Both giver and receiver 
become more open to each other. 

But this is not mere form, a set rule, like 
giving thanks at table or perpetually repeat- 
ing "Thank God" at every turn. The soul 



136 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOU. "^ 

on nre with love to God because of personal 
acquaintance and fellowship with him, hav- 
ing learned that he is a lovely Being, finds a 
joy and satisfaction in every act of fellow- 
ship and companionship with the Infinite. 
Love finds no difficulty in acknowledging 
favors; and does not wait for mere forms, or 
give thanks in a perfunctory manner or from 
a sense of duty. 

Nor do we stop here. Our investigation 
of principles pushes us beyond, and into the 
depths of divine action, into the very life 
and thought of God ; and again, it brings to 
light the secrets of human action. One of 
the most prominent parts of the teaching of 
Christ is that which is usually called prayer. 
It is the active and practical part of his 
teaching, bringing us at once into living con- 
tact with the original Cause of all things and 
into practical and efficient contact with sit- 
uations and things and people. It may be 
called the spoken word, when it has reference 
to prayer as a power as distinguished from 



137 



REJOICE ALWAYS; OR^ 

prayer as address to the Diety and as wor- 
ship. It may be called dealing directly with 
the First Cause. It brings us immediately 
into the realm of causation, the place of 
power. It is really the practical living in 
accordance with the gTeat principles of life 
which Christ taught. It is the abundant life 
which he declared that he came to bring to 
his followers. , 

How did Christ do those works of power 
recorded of him? He was in living contact 
with the Source of all power. ^The Father 
dwelling in me does his works." It is the 
privilege of every one to do such works as 
Christ did ; for the disciple or pupil proves 
himself such by doing as the teacher does. 
Is it possible for one to be a disciple, to be 
learning of his teacher, and yet not do or 
practice what he is taught? "The one who 
believes on me, the works that I do shall that 
one do also, and greater than these shall he 
do." 

Some of the great statements of his teach- 



138 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOU. 

ing are these: ^^If you abide in me, and my 
words abide in you, whatsoever you will, 
ask, and it shall become for you." This 
word "become" is the same one that is used 
in the beginning of John's Gospel to tell of 
creation : "All things through him became." 
If we abide in the Christ, and his words abide 
in us, our will becomes a creative power; 
we have only to ask, and things become or 
take place, they are created for us. "Have 
God's faith; surely I say to you that who- 
soever shall say to this mountain. Take your- 
self up and throw yourself into the sea, and 
shall not be at variance with himself in his 
heart, but shall believe that what he is say- 
ing is taking place, it shall be to him. Be- 
cause of this, I say to you. All things whatso- 
ever you are praying and are asking for, 
believe that you do receive them, and they 
shall be to you." You shall have them. 

These are marvelous statements, bringing 
before us possibilities which people have 
been slow to accept, but his own works 



139 



REJOICE ALWAYS; OR^ 

proved them true, and all who have in any 
measure accepted them have in that measure 
proved them. God's faith is that which he 
has in himself. If we have it, we receive it 
from him, taking it by faith, that faith 
which we already have ; and it increases until 
all things are possible to us. Here we see 
the direction concerning the spoken word, 
commanding the mountain and its obeying; 
and also praying and asking. Can any one 
more clearly state the secret of poVer? Can 
any one more scientifically formulate the 
law of the spirit which makes all things 
possible to the one who believes? 

These are not words of pious talk, meant 
to comfort and cheer; but statements of 
truth, of laws far exceeding natural laws, 
because they are laws of the supernatural 
and so take precedence over natural laws; 
not, however, suspending them or setting 
them aside, because they remain operative. 
Supernatural power merely operates in 
places that are beyond natural power. He 



140 



HAPPINESS IS FOE YOU. 

who stated these supernatural laws also 
said: "Heaven and earth shall pass away, 
but my words shall not pass away," thus 
declaring the supremacy of the supernatural 
word over the outward universe called na- 
ture. 

God has so constituted the universe and 
man that man can have dominion, having 
agencies under his control higher than those 
in what is called nature, those which trans- 
cend and overrule nature. There has been 
a great advance of mankind as there have 
been developed and employed so many re- 
sources of nature. Steam, electricity, mag- 
netism, and the like belong to nature. They 
are external, and belong among effects, or at 
best among secondary causes. Beyond and 
above all these, and dominating them, are 
agencies of the rational spirit which are 
direct and immediate. Great advances also 
are to be made in the employment of the re- 
sources of the supernatural. 

This twentieth century is to be as remark- 



141 



REJOICE ALWAYS; OR, 

able for spiritual triumphs and advancement 
as the nineteenth was for material. There 
must be developed a science of the super- 
natural, as there has been of the natural ; a 
systematic statement of what is known and 
demonstrated in the higher realm of being 
and action. The facts are there, the opera- 
tions, and the effects; and they invite the 
deepest investigation and research. All this 
will be along lines stated and demonstrated 
by Christ. In this realm of cause, we are 
dealing with eternal reality, not with what 
is phenomenal, transitory, and temporary. 
^^The things that are seen are temporal, 
but the things which are not seen are eter- 
nal.'' 

In this method of direct contact and com- 
munion with the infinite and absolute Cause, 
the source of all power, in this employment 
of supernatural force, one of the logical 
steps is the giving of thanks. All causation 
is primarily and essentially in the spirit; 
for God is spirit, and so the essence of all 



142 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOU. 

things must be spirit, the effect partaking 
of the essence of the cause. What have been 
distinguished as spirit and matter are really 
cause and effect, different aspects of the same 
essential and substantial reality, spirit. 
Then the laws of the supernatural are the 
laws of spirit, spiritual laws, the laws or 
methods of thought, of feeling, and of will. 
Man has yet to learn the higher uses of in- 
telligent will or creative force. In a meas- 
ure all do use this ; but in a measure so small 
and insignificant, compared with what might 
be, that it hardly seems to be the same in 
kind. Christ was master of all this under- 
standing and practice, and he declares that 
his followers should come into the same 
understanding and do even greater works 
than he was then doing. 

Thus it is evident that those works which 
have been called miracles are not arbitrary 
interpositions of divine power in the usual 
or "natural'' order of things, but are the 
results of the operation of force or power 



143 



REJOICE ALWAYS; OR^ 

according to the higher order of things, the 
supernatural. Such works do not involve 
the violation, suspension, or setting aside of 
the laws of nature, for these continue opera- 
tive on such occasions; but the higher, ac- 
cording to reason, always takes precedence 
over the lower. When one lifts a book, the 
law of gravitation is not violated, suspended, 
or set aside; but a higher manifestation of 
power, according to a higher law, or method 
of action, is brought out. If there are 
higher laws at all, there may be still higher 
and higher laws. These highest laws are in 
the region of the supernatural, and we shall 
learn to act according to them as we learn 
of Christ and do his works. Then what 
have been called miracles become matters of 
common experience; and nothing is more 
natural to us than the supernatural. 

The steps w^hich we are to take in follow- 
ing the method which Christ stated and em- 
ployed are these : — , 

The first step is. Ask what you will; 



144 



HAPPINESS IS FOB YOU. 

The second step is, Believe that you take 
or receive; 

The third step is, Give thanks and act. 

These are the three steps of power, and 
they lead to perfect mastery of every situa- 
tion or problem that one can meet. The law 
is demonstrable. The results which follow 
when this way is followed prove that the way 
is right. 

The giving of thanks is the seal of believ- 
ing that we did take or receive when we were 
asking; of believing that what we were say- 
ing was taking place or becoming, though 
no outward evidence was observable; of be- 
lieving that what we declare or claim from 
the creative standpoint is true, as when 
Christ said, "Thou art loosed from thine 
infirmity," or "Thy faith hath saved thee." 

Thanksgiving is the business end of 
prayer, because it is the actual appropria- 
tion, by an act of the human spirit, of that 
which has been asked for. What is the use 
of asking, if one does not accept or take the 



145 



REJOICE always; or^ 

things asked for, when they have been given? 
In the philosophy and science of the super- 
natural, of spiritual being and power, the 
place of thanksgiving is clear and definite, 
all according to reason. It is strange that 
the world, and even the church, have over- 
looked the real significance of all these ex- 
hortations to thanksgiving, not seeing that 
it is one of the essential steps in obtaining 
answers to prayer. Is it not time for 
thoughtful consideration to take the place 
of tradition, and science the place of sanc- 
timony? 

The law^ or method is. Ask, and then be- 
lieve that you receive or take or have re- 
ceived — not shall receive some time. Then 
give thanks. As you ask in faith, so must 
you take in faith and give thanks in faith. 
It is not a matter of feeling, it is not a mat- 
ter of seeing effects, but merely of believing. 
In believing there is brought about a union 
with the infinite Mind and Will which is 
creative, producing that which is believed, 



146 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOU. 

bringing it out of the unseen but believed-in 
state into the seen and manifest state. If 
one believes that he can do, he does ; if he be- 
lives that he can sing, he sings; if he believes 
that he takes from God, he does take from 
him. 

No law of nature is more certain in its 
operation than this law of prayer or the 
spoken word. A certain man desired a cer- 
tain object, and so he asked for it. Then he 
believed that he accepted, took, or received 
it. Then he gave thanks that he had it. He 
did not feel any change in himself or see any 
change in things. From the ordinary hu- 
man standpoint, and so far as visible and 
tangible means were concerned, it seemed 
impossible that he could ever have his object. 
Indeed, things took place, which, to all ap- 
pearance, made it evident that nothing of 
the kind could be. Whenever he would 
think of the object, he would say: "Thank 
God, it is mine." Whenever a doubt would 
come to mind, he would say these words and 



147 



REJOICE ALWAYS; OR^ 

overwhelm the doubt. When the things oc- 
curred which seemed to show that his object 
was impossible to have, he would speak these 
words, often right out aloud. In his mind 
he was confirming, strengthening, and deep- 
ening the conviction that he really had what 
he had asked for and believed that he took. 
Can we not see a kind of packing and 
hardening of his conviction by the repetition 
of his thanksgiving? Or is it easier to see 
that with each repetition a new impetus or 
a new increment of power was added, which 
brought his desired object closer and closer 
to him by a stronger and stronger attrac- 
tion? Just at the right time, in spite of all 
that had seemed adverse, regardless of seem- 
ing impossibility, notmthstanding the neces- 
sary means did not appear all along, there 
came the combination of visible and tangible 
means and all other events and arrange- 
ments, so that the prayer was actually and 
manifestly answered in his possession and 
enjoyment of what he had asked for. ^^If you 



148 



HAPPINESS IS FOB YOU. 

shall ask me anything in my name, that will 
I do." That, not something else. 

"I can give thanks when I get what I ask, 
but how can I do so before? How can I say 
that I have what I ask, when I do not see it 
or feel it?'' Let us inquire when we get, 
when the getting takes places. A little thought 
enables any one to see that the essential of 
every transaction is in the mind, and that 
the outward acts are merely the expression 
or the carrying out of details. In a real 
estate deal, the papers and record are merely 
the confirmation and evidence of what has 
been done in the mind. See how much has 
been thought, and how many things have 
been weighed in the mind, and how the will 
of both parties has been brought to a con- 
centration. Then each accepted the terms 
of the deal, each considered the transaction 
done. The one ceased to call the property 
his, and the other began to call it his. The 
record was only that all this might make 
evident what had been done in the mind. 



149 



REJOICE always; or^ 

The delivery and the acceptance of the prop- 
erty did not require taking it up and hand- 
ing it over. Such a transaction may take 
place and the property be thousands of miles 
away. 

Any day in business one gives his check in 
a deal, believing that his bank will pay it 
out of his deposit, and the other party to the 
deal accepts the check, giving a receipt for 
the amount. Yet not a sight of actual coin 
is there. The recipient of the check believes 
that he has received the money, counts or 
reckons it so, and it comes out so. He be- 
lieves that the maker of the check has the 
money in the bank and that the bank is 
solvent. He says, ^Thank you." He may 
pass along the check, and it may be used in 
a doz^n other deals, all who handle it believ- 
ing that it is "good." Our whole banking 
system is built and conducted on faith. 
People believe that they receive money 
and so reckon it, and vast transactions 
and many of them may take place all 



150 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOU. 

in the mind, and no actual coin be touched 
until the end of a series of deals, and that 
amount of coin a mere trifle compared with 
the aggregate of the transactions. 

When you believe and reckon that you get, 
you do get, and that is the time to give 
thanks. It is not a question of seeing or of 
feeling, not a matter of outward appearance ; 
but of believing and reckoning. Thus it is 
easy to get at the ansv/er to our questions. In 
one's mind, in his imagination, if you please, 
he perceives that he gets or takes. It is in 
his belief or faith, by an act of faith. One 
speaks of his possession from this higher 
standpoint of causation, not from the lower 
standpoint of effect, of which the five senses 
enable him to become cognizant. He saj^s 
that he has, in order to have ; speaking from 
the higher standpoint. He speaks out of the 
unseen into the seen, out of the supernatural 
into the natural, and thus is so far a creator 
of v/hat he wills. It is all in union and co- 
operation with God. 



151 



REJOICE ALWAYS; OR^ 

When anything visible and tangible is 
offered, one has to believe that the person 
who offers means to give it, and one has to 
believe that he receives, or he would not 
reach out and take hold of the object. The 
essential of the receiving and possession is 
in the mind. There must be a conviction 
that it is really a gift. When this conviction 
or belief is reached as a state of mind, one 
gets or possesses the thing offered. 

Giving thanks is the clinching of accep- 
tance, whether the object be given by man or 
given by God. It consummates the act of 
faith or belief, and the next stage is realiza- 
tion, demonstration. Faith or belief first, 
seeing and handling afterwards. Follow up 
your asking by mentally accepting and 
claiming what you ask, and giving thanks 
for it. Then act as if you believed. Step 
out upon the firm ground of your faith or 
conviction, whether you see your way or not. 
Step out on faith and see things come as re- 
quired, just in the right place and time. 



152 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOU. 

This is an experience that truly brings out 
the divine in man. It is having God's faith 
and believing that what one is saying is tak- 
ing place. Does this seem like taking a 
risk? Then take the risk and find that you 
are really taking what you asked for, taking 
it by faith. In dealing with God, there are 
no risks. 

Taking with thanks is a very important 
part in prayer. Millions ask and beseech; 
but few take. They withold their thanking 
till they see that their prayer is answered, 
and thus, do not the very thing that is es- 
sential, believe that their prayer is answer- 
ed. It is not said "All things whatsoever 
you shall ask in prayer, seeing^ you shall 
receive," but ''believing/^ Believe before 
you see ; believe in order to see. "Did I not 
say unto thee that, if thou wouldest believe, 
thou shouldest see the glory of God?'' Mar- 
tha had to learn that lesson. 

Innumerable prayers are and have been 



153 



REJOICE ALWAYS; OR^ 

made, and there has b^n no lack of earnest- 
ness and sincerity ; but the results have not 
been seen, just because the taking and thank- 
ing steps of the operation have been left off. 
One may plow and sow, and his crop may 
grow grandly; but if he does not reap, his 
harvest amounts to nothing to him. It 
awaits his taking ; but if he does not take it, 
surely he can not blame any one but himself. 
Every prayer is answered^ hut not every an- 
swer is accepted. ^^Ask, and it shall be 
given you," but you must do the taking and 
the acting. 

The use of the will in taking and thanking 
is very evident. One must believe, or per- 
suade himself, that he has received what he 
has asked for, and give thanks based on that 
belief. Does this seem like imagination or 
self-deception? It really is not deception, 
but bringing about first a creative convic- 
tion and then the actual expression or em- 
bodiment of what was held in the mind as a 
desire and then as a conviction. Call it 



154 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOU. 

imagination, if you please. Does not imagi- 
nation precede every work of creative gen- 
ius? Every work of art, every invention, 
every successful enterprise, begins in the im- 
agination or imaging region of the mind. 
This imaging power of every person is the 
region of schemes, plans, and all else that 
may precede and develop into successful is- 
sues. One must compel himself to disregard 
appearances, refuse to consider the senses, 
what he hears, sees, and touches, even what 
he imagines to the contrary, and accept and 
hold fast to the unseen and intangible; he 
must hold it with the mind and so bring it 
forth into manifestation. This may involve 
imagination, but it brings forth the truth, 
and so is not deception. 

When a university is founded on paper it 
is a work of imagination. The buildings 
are planned, the courses of study are laid 
out, and plans are made for the completed 
school ; but not a foot of ground or a piece 
of wood or stone may be in sight. Later on, 



155 



REJOICE ALWAYS; 0R_, 

as things develop, the plans are carried out, 
and the buildings stand as actual things, 
visible and tangible, and the studies are pur- 
sued as laid out : the university is an accom- 
plished fact, the pride of multitudes. Was 
it mere imagination when on paper? Was 
it something unreal then? Was any one 
deceived? 

The successful careers are always in the 
creative imagination before they are recor- 
ded in history. Who shall say that the real 
secret of every success is not prayer and 
statement of need with thanksgiving, even 
though the persons have not realized it 
themselves? Who has ever accomplished 
anything worth while without saying to him- 
self, if not to others, that he was going to do 
that thing, and kept it vividly before his 
mind's eye, believing that he would succeed? 
Many fulfill the law without realizing it, 
and as they fulfill its conditions, they get 
the results. They have the possession, even 
though they may not have the profession. 



156 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOU. 

The manner of giving thanks is simple: 
^^I thank thee." Ask, believe that you take, 
thank God that you now have ; then act. A 
question may arise in the mind, some subtle 
doubt. Say at once : ^^Thank God, it is done,'' 
"It is mine,'' "I have it," as the case may 
require. This eliminates questions and 
doubts, and brings about a firm, steady, con- 
fident state of mind, leading on to victory. 
In the face of apparent impossibility, when 
things seem the other way rather than as We 
desire, say this: "Thank God, it is done," 
"Thank God for victory." This is a most 
powerful way of appropriating, of drawing 
from the unseen, of bringing from the hand 
of the Almighty, whatever is needed. When 
others talk of difficulty and predict disaster, 
when not a ray of encouragement shines on 
your pathway, when everything seems block- 
ed up, then speak your word that shatters 
all opposition, that banishes discourage- 
ment: "Thank God, I can, and I will." It 
will enable you to do wonders. 



157 



/ REJOICE ALWAYS; OR^ 

In any situation, keep in mind "Thank 
God for victory'' and note its effect upon 
yourself and upon the situation. Paul 
wrote : "Thanks be to God who always leads 
us in triumph in Christ/' The idea in the 
words is that of the ancient Roman triumph, 
given successful generals after some great 
victory. It is a triumphal procession in 
which are borne and displayed the trophies 
brought from the vanquished foe, and along 
with the trophies the captive enemy. God 
gives us such triumphal processions, if we 
put ourselves completely at his disposal and 
accept his gifts and victories with thanks- 
giving. 

When everything is going well, when every 
desire of the heart seems met, when it seems 
as if the eternal rhythm of the divine were 
bearing you onward, keep all this going so 
by continuing in the attitude of thanks- 
giving. What got you into that rhythm will 
keep you there. Prosperity seems harder to 
bear tSian adversity, because people are so 



158 



HAPPINESS IS ^OU YOU. 

wont to forget God and the true secret of 
prosperity when all seems going well. 
When things are trying, overcome them with 
the spirit of thanksgiving. Give thanks for 
victory received^ taken, by faith, before it is 
manifest; and so through divine creative 
power make it manifest. "This is the vic- 
tory that overcomes the world, our faith." 
It is the one who believes that conquers, and 
the one who gives thanks shows that he be- 
lieves. When you start a new enterprise or 
embark upon an unknown sea, throw your- 
self into your work with faith in God, in 
yourself, and in your success. Throw your- 
self mentally beyond the present into vic- 
tory and success now given by God and 
received by you in spirit by faith, and thank 
God. 



159 



REJOICE ALWAYS; OR^ 



Chapter VI. 
The Peace of God. 

"And the peace of God, which surpasses all under- 
standing, shall keep your hearts and your thoughts in 
Christ Jesus.*' 

HERE is presented to us the glorious 
result of all that has been done. It is the 
sabbath-rest, we might say, after the activity 
just considered. There is an indescribable 
peace that comes, incomprehensible, proceed- 
ing from God, ^^the peace of God that sur- 
passes understanding.'' We can experi- 
ence it, but we can not explain it. It is 
nothing of ordinary experience, and nothing 
in ordinary human experience is comparable 
with it. It is beyond the power of human 
understanding. One may, in a measure, de- 
scribe it, but he can not state its nature, 
further than to say that it is God's peace. 
It simply is^ and he enjoys it ; but he can not 
tell what it is or how it is, because it is one 

160 



HAPPINESS IS t^OR YOU. 

of those ultimate facts of experience, of con- 
sciousness. 

One has a consciousness that all is well. 
There is no worry — nothing to worry about. 
Worry seems impossible, a thing far removed 
from his world. One feels a sense of secur- 
ity or safety, as if he were guarded by unseen 
forces. Were Elisha's horsemen and char- 
iots something of this kind? Were the 
angels that "ministered unto him'' after 
Christ's victory in the wilderness anything 
of this kind? 

Another thought presents itself. The 
words translated save and salvation in the 
New Testament have various applications, 
as when the woman touched the tassel of 
Christ's garment, when the blind men were 
restored, when the woman wiped his feet 
with her hair, and various others; the idea 
being that of safety, soundness, wholeness. 
Is this divine peace the fulness of all these 
meanings at once? and is this the true sal- 
vation through Christ? One is reminded of 



161 



REJOICE always; or^ 

John's statement: "This is the boldness 
which we have towards him, that if we shall 
ask anything according to his will, he hears 
us. And if we know that he is hearing us, 
whatsoever we shall be asking, we know that 
we have the petitions which we have asked 
from him." What a sense of repose and 
confidence this is, as one has the testimony 
in himself. To ask according to his will is to 
ask according to the method, way, or law 
which we have previously explained ; for that 
is his revealed will. We come to know that 
he is hearing us and that therefore we have 
what we ask. We have the testimony in our- 
selves. Can one's state of mind then be 
other than that of divine peace? Such con- 
sciousness of God is peace. 

Externally we see results, the actual mani- 
festation of what we have asked for, what we 
have stated as our requirements. The dem- 
onstration of divine power in the solving of 
our problems is manifest. What we believed 
that we received we now see that we have re- 



162 



HAPPINESS IS FOE YOU. 

ceived. Faith is confirmed by sight. We 
have proved or demonstrated that the state- 
ments of Christ are true. 

There are three points in this statement 
of the result of rejoicing, keeping conscious 
of God, being anxious about nothing, and 
making our requests known by prayer and 
statement of need with thanksgiving : — 

1. The peace of God ; 

2. Its quality ; 

3. Its power. 

1, The peace of God is God's peace, that 
which is characteristic of him and that which 
he imparts. It must originate in him and 
proceed from him. The Supreme Being can 
not be agitated or troubled, but must abide 
in eternal and infinite peace, and can not 
know fear or anxiety. Communicating his 
being to man in creation and in regeneration, 
he can communicate also whatever else he 
wills, any quality, power, or experience. 
Thus righteousness is not something to be 
wrought out by keeping the letter of the law, 



103 



REJOICE ALWAYS; OR^ 

but the righteousness of God is communica- 
ted to man through love or self-giving and 
must be received by man through faith ; faith 
and love working together. So also God 
communicates his own action as a rational 
spirit: knowledge, feeling, and power; and 
also his own state, peace. 

Peace is not mere quiet or rest, inactivity ; 
but may be enjoyed amid great activity. We 
have all known at some time, and many of us 
many times, a peculiar state of inner smooth- 
ness, life seeming to be very full and power- 
ful, our thoughts wonderfully accelerated 
and lofty. This was peace, divine peace. It 
is a state of freedom from anything that 
troubles or that makes afraid; of security 
from all harm or danger. One time I sat 
upon a rock, high above a yawning chasm 
that extended so far down into the earth 
that no one had ever been able to fathom it. 
Yet I felt secure upon the rock, though a 
couple of feet of movement would have preci- 
pitated me into the unknown depths of water 



164 



HAPPINESS is FOR YOtJ. 

far down below. So, in this divine peace 
and security, it matters not what might be 
if. — One can look possible danger and trial 
and difficulty and trouble and disaster in the 
face and be all at peace within, because he is 
held above and beyond them. 

On the positive side, it is steadiness, firm- 
ness, satisfaction. Such a state can not be 
manufactured by man, but must have its 
origin in God; yet it follows man's earnest 
seeking, follows according to law. He ful- 
fills certain conditions, and the result fol- 
lows. It belongs to every one as a child of 
God, and it can be realized. The way is not 
hard. We can not make the light or the 
warmth of the sun. These are poured forth 
from that great central source, and we can 
keep ourselves from the light and warmth, 
or we can place ourselves in a position to 
receive and enjoy both. God's intelligence 
and love are poured forth without measure ; 
we can keep from them, or we can so place 
ourselves as to receive and enjoy both. 



165 



REJOICE always; o^^ 

This inward and essential peace becomes 
outwardly manifest. It begins as a state of 
the spirit, harmony, such a state as God 
dwells in and communicates to those who 
cultivate communion with him. As it origi- 
nates in God and proceeds from him, it is 
his state imparted to man. Man was crea- 
ted like God; so he ought to dwell in the 
same state as God. As the Holy Spirit 
guides us into all the truth, all the reality, 
surely we must have this peace. "Receive 
the Holy Spirit,'' said the risen Christ, as 
he breathed upon the assembled disciples. 
They believed that they received, and some 
days after, at Pentecost, it was outwardly 
manifest that they had received the Holy 
Spirit. In this glorious state there is no 
fear, but mastery, dominion, the command 
of God-given resources. From the central 
self proceed power ; dominion over all things, 
beginning with self-dominion ; ability to use 
power for practical and definite ends. No 
one is at peace, if he is loaded with care; if 



166 



HAPPINESS IS FOB YOU. 

he is worried by people or by things ; if he is 
uncertain of his way, or in the dark. Accord- 
ing to the laws of our being, the inner state 
iinds expression in outward things, in the 
body as health; in circumstances as abun- 
dance and success ; in society as respect and 
love from others. The worried, fretful, 
complaining person is uncomfortable in 
mind and in body, circumstances are inhar- 
monious, and socially he is dreaded. 

One is not at peace in the full sense of the 
word, if he is disordered in body, if organs 
and functions are imperfect, if he feels ham- 
pered and bound down because of physical 
weakness and ailment. Nor is one at peace, 
if his affairs are in disorder, and embarrass- 
ment and hindrance confront him. This 
divine peace extends to wider ranges than the 
mere inward peace of mind, though that is 
essential. It includes also one's relations 
to other people and to things. It means har- 
mony in domestic, religious, social, commer- 
cial, political, and all other relations and af- 



167 



REJOICE always; or^ 

fairs. It means prosperity, success, the sup- 
ply of all needs, the enjoyment of life and all 
power. To be anxious or worried about any 
of these things is not to be at peace ;but when 
one is conscious of God and of his power, 
that Omnipotence is shaping things for him, 
he is all at peace. He has asked what he 
willed, and now it is becoming or taking 
place for him; but he had to abide in the 
Christ first, had to take his words into him- 
self and let them there abide. 

There must be peace with God before one 
can have the peace of God. We must have 
the faith of God, in order to have the power 
of God; and we must have the mind of 
Christ. One can then look forth upon the 
course of events in the world at large and in 
his own affairs and nothing excites or wor- 
ries him. He may not understand all that is 
going on, may not see the outcome, may not 
yet perceive what is the divine purpose ; but 
such is his knowledge of God and trust in 
him, that he is all at peace. He believes, 



168 



HAPPINESS IS FOE YOU. 

without waiting to see or to feel. He abides 
in Christ, and Christ's words abide in him; 
SO, whatever he wills, he asks and belives 
that he receives, and then keeps giving 
thanks. Divine peace keeps him, keeps all 
his thoughts and his heart from which they 
proceed. This is life abundant and satisfy- 
ing. 

Only God can give this peace ; for only he 
has it to give. There is no other source of 
it. Heaven as an abode can not give it, and 
for one to be in heaven without it would be 
to come to the wedding feast without the 
garment. Only those who have learned the 
secret of scisceptibility to the Spirit can take 
into themselves that divine quality which 
makes all this possible, that makes heaven 
endurable ; that makes, indeed, heaven every- 
where, not as a mere place, but as a state of 
mind. We must be truly partakers of the 
divine nature; then all this, supernatural 
and eternal as it is, is natural to us. 

2. The quality of this peace is divine and 



1G9 



EEJOiCE always; or^ 

surpasses or goes beyond all understanding. 
It is beyond the power of human compre- 
hension; and yet it can be apprehended and 
enjoyed. Philosophy can not explain or 
analyse it. It is not a matter of the intellect 
or understanding, but of experience. It is 
not something to be achieved, but received. 
One does not strive to see, but opens his 
eyes; and he s^s, whether he understands 
how or not. There is no struggle about it. 
So one tells the Infinite all that is on his 
heart, his needs, his desires, his aspirations, 
all his confidences, in a business-like way, 
gives thanks, and then peace comes, the peace 
of possession, realizing that in his oneness 
with the Father he has what he has asked 
for. This peace is not forced or made, but 
is conferred, communicated, made common 
between God and man. 

Many make the mistake of trying to under- 
stand first and experience afterward. If one 
will reflect, he will see how absurd this is. 
Experience first, explanation afterward, is 



170 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOU. 

the natural order; something to explain be- 
fore explanation can be given. Does one 
understand another's utterance before that 
other speaks or afterwards? Perception 
first, then understanding ; but the thing per- 
ceived must precede perception. The fact 
that a thing is beyond understanding does 
not place it beyond realization; it merely 
means that it is something so satisfying, so 
beyond ordinary human experience, that it 
is spoken of as beyond all understanding. 

Philosophically considered, intellect is 
not the only entrance to the essential man, the 
rational spirit. It is a mistake to think that 
one must know things in order to have and 
to enjoy them. It is not true. It is the idea 
of the true that we take in through the intel- 
lect; but the beautiful we take in through 
the feelings, and the good through the will. 
It is blessed that we can express more than 
we can explain, and enjoy more than we can 
account for or understand. We breathe and 
see and hear and love before we can explain 



171 



EEJOICB ALWAYS; OR^ 



how we do these things or why. So also in 
the higher experiences with eternal things. 
They are in us, in our life and experience, 
though we may never attempt to explain or 
understand them. So we can enjoy the di- 
vine peace and abide in it without even try- 
ing to understand it. The little child abides 
in its mother's love, but may have very little 
understanding of what it is. The philoso- 
phy of such abiding is beyond the child; but 
the fact is there. 

3. We now come to peace as a power, and 
what it does. It keeps our hearts and our 
thoughts. The word translated keep means 
to see before hand, provide ; and then to keep 
or to guard as with a military force or garri- 
son. It denotes a constant, watchful, and 
eflScient protection. It is nothing that we 
do; it is done for us. We do not have to 
guard ourselves, we are guarded, kept close 
to the Christ. Peace as a power many have 
never experienced. It keeps or guards from 



173 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOU. 

all that might interrupt one's fellowship 
with the Father, whether from within or 
from without. It guards from all disturb- 
ance and from fear, from all that is not of 
God. 

The heart is the centre of the natural or 
physical life, from which is sent forth the 
stream of vitality to every point in the body. 
So we speak of the heart as the centre of all 
spiritual life and power in man. Out of this 
central spring proceed all the issues of life; 
all the thoughts, motives, impulses, desires, 
imaginations, plans, purposes, choices, and 
volitions. It is, when changed by the Spirit 
of God, the fountain of the new life. 
^Thoughts" are not the mere ideas or the acts 
of the intellect, but are the acts and pro- 
ducts of the entire rational spirit, intellect, 
feelings, and will. As the heart is the centre 
of all spiritual life, so these thoughts are the 
products which proceed from the heart, the 
expression or manifestation of that life of 
the spirit. With regard to all, the peace of 



173 



- ' REJOICE always; or^ 

God is the protecting and regulating power. 

The essence of all things is spirit, because 
the infinite Spirit or God is the Cause of all, 
and an effect is an embodiment of the cause. 
If the cause is spirit, the effect must be of the 
same substance. The activities of the ra- 
tional spirit, the divine likeness, determine 
the outward expression. The control of all 
things is in the inner unseen region of cau- 
sation, as we have noted, and this is the reg- 
ion of spirit. 

Every one knows that in his own mental 
or spiritual being is perpetual motion. His 
mind never stops. In part this motion or 
activity may be suspended, as in sleep ; but 
never wholly. There is an endless coming 
and going of ideas, motives, impulses, and 
purposes. Suggestions are always arising. 
Out of a central something, called in the 
Bible the heart, proceed all these things, and 
one obserevs them in consciousness. He can 
not stop them, though he can regulate them. 
Often they are far from what one desires 



174 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOU. 

them to be or his judgment approves. Some- 
times he seems to be driven by them, carried 
as on an irresistible stream, and all efforts 
to control them seem fruitless. Something 
of this sort must have been Paul's case when 
he wrote, "O wretched man that I am, who 
shall deliver me from the body of this 
death?" He must mean the apparent power 
which seemed to be holding him in bondage 
and making his body subject to death. 

Many have tried to rule their own selves, 
to curb the spirit, to silence their noisy 
thoughts, to calm the turmoil within them, 
but all in vain. They have found it beyond 
their skill. Resolves, vows, pledges, — all have 
proved powerless. They have thought that 
some power of sin held them ; they have be- 
lieved themselves obsessed by some departed 
spirit, and they have believed in the power of 
Satan. But for all such people here is 
boundless help. "For this purpose was the 
Son of God manifested that he might destroy 
the works of the devil.'' Jesus Christ came 



175 



REJOICE ALWAYS; OR^ 

as the Son of God to destroy what have 
seemed to be the works of an adversary of 
mankind. When he said, "Woman, thou art 
loosed from thine infirmity," and she 
straightened up well, he loosed the bond by 
his word of power; and afterwards, as he 
spoke, he said of her, "whom Satan hath 
bound, lo, these eighteen years.'' This de- 
stroying of Satanic works was delivering 
people, setting them free, making them 
whole. If any one believes, he finds himself 
saved, delivered, or set free. The divine 
peace keeps his heart and all that may em- 
anate from it, guarding, guiding, energizing, 
and life is a glad song of triumph and praise 
to the eternal Father. 

Sometimes the feelings are in a riot, imagi- 
nation beyond control, wild fancies flitting 
through the mind, and nameless fears haunt- 
ing one. No anxious thought will enable one 
to subdue these. Only God's power can do 
it. No one can guard himself against them 
successfully. But the peace of God will 



176 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOU. 

guard us against such things. The will may 
be weak, exertion a burden, concentration 
impossible, perseverance beyond one. The 
very ideas of concentration and persistency 
seem wearisome. But this peace of God is 
an inspiration, an energizing, urging one on- 
ward and imparting strength and efficiency. 
"Our sufficiency is from God.'' When one 
has this peace, his energy is not dissipated 
in useless anxiety, but is ready to be concen- 
trated and put forth as effective power. 
Some find the intellect dull and languid, not 
that keenness characterizing it which ought 
to be. But, when this divine peace is real- 
ized, the intellect seems to grasp and under- 
stand without effort, and the hard and toil- 
some effort to know and to learn is past and 
gone. A new intellectual life is experienced. 
Shall one keep always watching himself? 
Shall he constantly keep weighing motives, 
balancing the will, nagging himself to see 
whether he is right? No : constant self-crit- 
icism is not conducive to growth. One grows 



IT 



REJOICE ALWAYS; OE^ 

and improves under encouragement, and not 
under criticism and censure. One with this 
divine peace forgets himself and does not 
have his attention turned away from his 
work to his condition. In this peace he is 
free to develop without watching his devel- 
opment, without watching the progress or the 
process. 

It is well known that thoughts are forma- 
tive, shaping conditions and circumstances. 
What, then, shall become of one, if he does 
not constantly watch his thoughts? Are 
we not told to watch and pray, that we may 
not enter into temptation? Yes; but not to 
watch ourselves anxiously or in fear, but to 
watch how the divine presence is leading us 
and keeping us. Shall we watch the enemy, 
or our Captain? If one is subject to im- 
pressions and suggestions from others, how 
is he to be so watchful as to ward off these 
things and keep free? Is not the labor in 
this line too great for the reward? Does it 
pay? Is life worth while? Many are ask- 



178 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOU. 

ing such questions to-day; and the teaching 
which emanates from certain quarters and 
is called the "Truth," savoring more of 
heathen than of Christian principles^ may 
well inspire such questions. "My yoke is 
easy and my burden is light/' said he who 
invited all who labor and are heavy laden to 
come to him and be rested. Every one who 
follows the Christ finds that he has no weari- 
ness and no burden. He finds rest to his 
soul, rest to his entire being. Eest from fear 
and anxiety, rest from care and struggle, 
rest from the burden of the world, rest from 
physical weariness, — all this is found in 
what Christ meant : "I will rest you.'' 

The child of God has no need of such ques- 
tions and cares. He must not take upon 
himself so much, but learn to trust wholly 
in the loving Father. He must learn liter- 
ally to throw all his anxiety upon God. The 
government of the universe, or even of hu- 
manity, is not upon any man's shoulders. 
Does the littde child distress himself about 



179 



REJOICE always; or^ 

things? Is he anxious and troubled about his 
food or clothing? Does he study motives — 
his own or another's? Does he keep watch- 
ing himself or thinking about the effect of 
others upon himself? The child of God 
must learn that complete abandonment of 
himself and of his way to the One who cares 
for him is the secret of peace and happiness. 
Once get the power of divine peace, and you 
do not have to keep yourself, but you are 
kept, you are guarded. Learn the keeping 
power of God. A garrison is always keeping 
the citadel of your safety and welfare, de- 
fending you from all that is not desirable. 
^^Deliver us from evil" is an answered prayer 
now. He knows no evil, but is kept in the 
realization of God and therefore of good. 
This peace not only guards your heart 
and your thoughts from negative and unde- 
sirable things, from tendancies, impulses, 
and impressions, but it also guides them in 
ways that satisfy. The keeping power of 
peace is both negative and positive, the form- 



ISO 



HAPPINESS IS FOE YOU. 

er keeping from what should not be, and the 
latter keeping in what should be. The 
flanges of the wheels not only keep the train 
from running off the track, but also keep the 
train on the track where it should be. It is 
not enough to be kept away from harm ; we 
must also be kept in safety and freedom and 
happiness. 

This peace is not a manufactured thing, 
but it comes as one is silently receptive to 
the Spirit's working. When one has let 
down from all the cares of the world, has 
laid aside every weight ; when he has let the 
Spirit of God come into his entire being and 
take possession of him, there is such a calm- 
ness and quietness that no words can des- 
cribe it. There is a holiness about it, a sac- 
redness and privacy, and he can not tell about 
it without feeling that he would betray a con- 
fidence which God had entrusted to him 
alone. There are privacies between people, 
confidences, too sacred to be told to others ; 
so also are there such between God and in- 
dividuals. 

181 



REJOICE ALWAYS; OR^ 

But this is not idle sitting in silence, nor 
is it ascetic withdrawal from one's fellow 
men. It fosters no self-complacency that 
leads to one's feeling that he is better or 
more favored of God than his fellows. A 
true humility is characteristic of those who 
have come into this close contact and loving 
fellowship with God. Realizing God's 
fatherhood, one realizes also man's brother- 
hood, the unity and solidarity of mankind. 

We have noticed how, when one begins 
to get still, the thoughts often seem noisy. 
There come up into consciousness all kinds 
of suggestions and ideas, and it seems as if 
no peace could ever prevail where that chaot- 
ic turmoil rages. But over this tumultuous 
deep hovers the Spirit of God, and he 
breathes over the surface; and there come 
forth the manifestations of order. There is 
light, and the firmament, and the firm land, 
and the living things, and finally man as 
God's likeness. How the order of creation 
is reproduced in man ! 



182 



HAPPINESS IS FOE YOU. 

There are those besetting things which you 
have striven so hard to conquer. There are 
those habits and those early impressions that 
have seemed to dominate you. There are 
those customs of the world, those beliefs and 
thoughts and notions common to humanity. 
And again, there come before you that tem- 
per, that impulsiveness, that fear, and that 
suspicion. How you have labored and 
struggled to overcome all these, only to find 
that they still come back and come up and 
carry you captive! Is there not need that 
some divine power come and set the captive 
free and open the prison door to those who 
are bound? , 

And he has come. Jesus Christ is the 
Coming One of prophecy, and he it is who 
shall deliver his people. His very name de- 
clares it: Jesus, Savior, Deliverer; Christ, 
Anointed. And his words and works estab- 
lish his being the Son of God with power. 
He is the promised Seed, the Messiah prom- 
ised by God and expected by his people; and 



183 



REJOICE ALWAYS; OR^ 

whoever believes on him has deliverance; 
^^ Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed him 
with the Holy Spirit and power, who went 
about doing good and healing all Avho were 
oppressed by the devil, because God was with 
him.'' So declared Peter; and he added: 
"And we are witnesses of all things which 
he did both in the country of the Jews and in 
Jerusalem, whom also they slew, hanging 
him upon a tree." Again, in his epistle, he 
says : "We were eyewitnesses of his glory." 
John gives as the purpose of his writing his 
Gospel : "These were written, that you may 
believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of 
God; and that believing you may have life 
in his name." His first Epistle is for a simi- 
lar purpose : "That which we have seen and 
heard do we declare unto you also, that you 
may have fellowship with us: yes, and our 
fellowship is with the Father, and with his 
Son Jesus Christ ; and these things we write 
that our joy may be fulfilled." We have the 
full testimony of eyewitnesses who laid down 



184 



HAPPINESS IS FOR YOU. 

their lives in their testifying to the truth. 
And now we come to the secret of all peace : 
"in Christ Jesus." He is our peace, and it is 
in him that the peace of God guards our 
hearts and our thoughts. In him we have all 
things. In him is life, and "he that hath the 
Son hath the life" ; in him is no sin, no sick- 
ness, no trouble, and no death. In him is the 
new creation, the new heaven and the new 
earth in which dwells righteousness. It is 
only as we abide in the true vine and are 
branches bearing fruit that we are able to do 
anything; but the very glory of the Father 
is that we bear much fruit and so be Christ's 
disciples. It was for this very purpose that 
he chose and appointed the twelve, and 
chooses his disciples to-day. 

Dear child of God, as you enter into the 
most holy place, the sanctuary of the soul, 
along with the great High Priest, you find 
the veil all rent, no separation between you 
and God, and in that holy of holies, alone 
with the living God, you receive his peace 



185 



REJOICE ALWAYS; OR^ 

that surpasses all understanding and you 
are changed in the twinkling of an eye, your 
heart and your thoughts made right and 
then kept as with a garrison in Christ Jesus ! 



Finis. 



186 



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